
Copyright]^?. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr 



WORKING ONE'S WAY THROUGH 
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY 



Working One's Way 

Through College 

and University 

A Guide to Paths and Opportunities to 

Earn an Education at American 

Colleges and Universities 



BY 

CALVIN DILL WILSON 

Author of " Making the Most of Ourselves," two series; "The Story of 
the Cid," " Old Stories Retold from Chaucer and Spenser," etc. 




CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG & CO. 
1912 



I £361 

,W6 



Copyright 
By A. C. McCLURG & CO. 

1912 

Published April, 1912 



W. 3. Sail {hinting (Company 
GUitrayn 



$1,00 
gCLA314147 

/ 



INSCRIBED TO 

THE AMBITIOUS YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG 

WOMEN OF OUR COUNTRY 



Foreword 

THE aim of this book is to speak informingly 
and sympathetically to the many thousands 
of young men and young women, boys and girls, 
whose heart's desire is to gain college and univer- 
sity training, but who do not see their way to that 
goal. Thousands wish for such education but 
are scarcely aware that it can be attained by their 
own efforts, or that it has been done and is be- 
ing done by many who have no financial backing. 
To such students I trust these pages may afford 
light. 

February 7, 1912. 

C. D. W. 



[vh] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Outlook . 13 

II Is It Possible to Support Oneself 

and Gain a College Education? . 18 
III Ways in Which Young Men Earn 

Money While in College . . 26 
IV More Ways for Young Men to 

Earn at College 39 

V Still More Ways for Young Men 

to Earn at College 56 

VI Ways by Which Young Women 

Earn Money While in College . 68 
VII Experiences of a Woman Who 
Earned Her Education; Also, 
Conditions in the College of 
Which She is President ... 84 
VIII Special Statements from Leading 

Colleges for Women .... 91 
IX How the Colleges Help Needy 

Students 98 

X Other Aids within the College . 109 

XI Prizes and Honor Scholarships . 114 

XII University Fellowships . . . . 121 

XIII Self-Support and Social Position . 126 

XIV Can One Keep up Health and 

Scholarship? 131 

[ix] 



Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XV Distinguished Persons Who Have 

Earned Their Own Education . 139 
XVI The Career of a Very Notable 

Self-Helper 153 

XVII Help in Foreign Colleges and Uni- 
versities 174 

XVIII Cost of Tuition and Other Ex- 
penses at Various Colleges . . 211 
XIX Views of Some Magazine Writers . 245 
XX Choice of a College, and College 

Atmospheres 272 

XXI Value of a College Degree . . . 288 
XXII Greek Letter Societies as Helps . 294 

XXIII College Athletics 307 

XXIV College Life 316 

XXV Bureau for Student Aid, Carnegie 

Technical Schools 325 

XXVI Free Education in the National 
Academies at West Point, An- 
napolis, and New London . . . 331 



[x] 



WORKING ONE'S WAY THROUGH 
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY 



Working One's Way Through 
College and University 

CHAPTER I 

THE OUTLOOK 

Ten thousand capable boys and girls graduate each 
year from our High Schools and Academies, who, 
though in character and ability entitled to every ad- 
vantage of higher education, are compelled by lack 
of funds to forego a college course. This is not only 
a loss to them as individuals but a distinct loss to the 
country in the lessened opportunities and diminished 
efficiency of some of its most promising young citi- 
zens. When we consider the vast sums donated each 
year to our colleges and universities, — amounting in 
1907 to $17,716,605, — and when we consider further 
the sums squandered in sending to college unappre- 
ciative sons and daughters of the wealthier class, the 
failure of these ten thousand young men and women 
seems like a national calamity. It is a national calam- 
ity. — Dr. Edward J. Wheeler. 

THE colleges are open to energy and talents. 
They are not close corporations welcoming 
only well-lined pockets. Their sesame is not a 

[ 13 I 



Working One's Way Through College 

bank account. Their doors swing wide for 
brains, courage, and character to enter. Such 
youths as have financial backing have neither 
a patent on, nor a monopoly of, educational op- 
portunities. There are no warders at the gates 
to shut out any or to ask about their property or 
heraldry. The colleges have been established and 
builded up with democratic aims, with intent to 
include in their hospitality all alike. To-day, 
more than ever before, one of the chief symbols of 
the college student's life might be a youth with a 
book in his right hand, while his left hand grasps 
a tool with which to work his way. 

It is encouraging to note how numerous and 
how widespread are the higher educational insti- 
tutions in our land, among which one may choose. 
One does not have to leave his State, scarcely his 
own neighborhood, in the search. There are five 
hundred and seventy-three recognized colleges of 
all kinds. These include one hundred and forty- 
three for men only, three hundred and twenty-one 
for both sexes, and one hundred and nine for 
women only. In addition there are very many 
private schools, preparatory schools, academies 
proper, and privately managed military schools, 
of high grade; these in general are not endowed 
and do not grant degrees, and so are not included 

[14] 



Working One's Way Through College 

in the first list; but nevertheless they provide 
training for intellect and character, and they serve 
as steps toward the higher institutions. In a large 
proportion of those that have been referred to 
there are more or less favorable opportunities for 
earning education, in whole or in part by one's 
own efforts. 

It is encouraging to consider the hosts of young 
people now in the colleges, academic and profes- 
sional, and to remember that a large percentage of 
both men and women among these students are 
winning their own way. There are more than one 
hundred and fifty thousand of these students. This 
number does not include those in the lesser schools 
above the public High Schools, though all these 
may be kept in mind as possibilities on the upward 
path of education. Of the students, more than one 
hundred and six thousand are men. The women's 
colleges are divided into grades A and B; of the 
A grade there are just sixteen. There are more 
than forty-three thousand women and girl students 
in the A grade and in the co-educational colleges, 
while there are many women in still other colleges. 

But far greater than the hosts now in the col- 
leges are the numbers of young people in the land 
who aspire to rise through like training to the 
ranks of the educated. Many of these are now 

[15] 



Working One's Way Through rv 

girding themselves for the struggle toward t* 
end by their own efforts. Multitudes more are 
ready to have smouldering ambitions fired by 
knowledge that their dreams can become realities. 

Many others have never heard that educations 
earned by the students are actualities, never met 
and talked with a man or a woman who has fought 
this battle to successful issue, never learned that 
a College Employment Bureau exists. Many others 
have but vague notions that a few here and there, 
in unknown ways and by special good fortune, 
have found it possible to win education by per- 
sonal effort; but these rumors have been without 
detail, mere floating hearsay, and so have made no 
definite impression as having a bearing upon their 
own future. 

In shops and stores, on farms, in out-of-the-way 
districts, are hundreds of thousands of young 
people, vigorous, aspiring, courageous, talented, 
to whom information as to the possibility of their 
college education may come as good news from a 
far country. Still others are aware, in a limited 
way, of the opportunities, and are beginning to 
fumble for a start, but have no general survey of 
the field. 

Unto you, O young men and young women, we 
write. We aim to bring to your hosts light, that 

[16] 



jrtyng One's Way Through College 



j »„.j 



a. ..way may be opened, that you may gain 
. courage, take stock of yourselves, formulate plans, 

and begin and carry on to the end the battle for 

earning your own education. 

We do not intend to depict the pathway to which 

you are invited as one of roses, and so allure with 

vain hopes the vacillating and the lovers of ease. 

But we hope to help those whose ambitions are 
gPQ^erful enough to carry them past obstacles and 

difficulties, and to make these seem as little things 

compared with the goal to be won. 



[17] 



r»iton»-.> ■ 



CHAPTER II 

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SUPPORT ONESELF 
AND GAIN A COLLEGE EDUCATION? 

The experience of many students shows that if a 
man has health, energy, cheerfulness, a good prep- 
aration for college work, he need not hesitate to en- 
ter. — Charles W. Eliot, ex-President of Harvard. 

THESE vital questions are upon many earnest 
youthful lips : " Can I by work and thrift 
earn my support and gain a college education? 
Can I select a college, enter it as a student, sit at 
the feet of its teachers, be a part of the student 
life, gain intellectual discipline and knowledge, and 
at the same time pay my way by extra efforts? 
Can I do this and preserve health, get the good 
of school life, keep self-respect and standing 
among my comrades? Is there anything I must 
lose in this way? Is there anything I may gain 
beyond those whose expenses are provided by 
others ? " 

It is a cheerful fact that the youth of to- 
day who asks such questions can be answered 

[18] 



Working One's Way Through College 

optimistically. The replies are based not on the- 
ory but on experience. In many hundreds of 
instances young people have earned their own way 
to education. It is being done by many at this 
hour. If one has health, pluck, determination, 
adaptability, one can do the same. 

These questions find suggestive reply in the 
fact that a very considerable proportion of the 
colleges have within themselves organizations for 
the finding of remunerative work for students, 
and for assisting them to adapt themselves to 
suitable employments while at school. These are 
known as Employment Bureaus or Self-Help 
Committees. In still other institutions this aid 
is in the hands of the local Young Men's and 
Young Women's Christian Associations, and 
these undertake and carry on successfully this 
service. 

These Bureaus and Committees are carefully 
organized and operate systematically, keeping in 
touch with employers of labor of various kinds in 
their cities or towns, having lists of student appli- 
cants for work, either special or general, and in 
multitudes of instances bring employers and em- 
ployees together. . 

More than this, after the students get under 
way, they grow in initiative, seek jobs, put to 

[19] 



Working One's Way Through College 

varied uses such experience and skill as they 
possess, and find and make ways to earn expenses. 
The youth of to-day who aspires in this direction 
is not a pioneer, though he may often need to 
be his own pathfinder as to special ways and 
means. He may start with the assurance of the 
practicability of his undertaking, backed by the 
experience of many. He can hearten himself by 
the knowledge that grit and skill have accom- 
plished the same, and he can cry out to himself, 
" What man has done, man can do again." 

We may also turn directly to the colleges and 
ask them our questions and find their replies en- 
couraging, though wisely qualified by reference 
to the personal equation, which must enter into 
success or failure in this as in any undertaking. 
The Secretary of Harvard states : 

" Whether one will be successful or not depends 
chiefly on his own ability and energy. . . . It is 
possible to work one's way through Harvard, for there 
are always self-supporting students in college; and 
the experience of many students shows that if a man 
has health, energy, cheerfulness, a good preparation 
for college, and enough money for the necessary ex- 
penses of the first year, the chances are he will never 
turn back. The ways of self-support at Harvard 
are as various as the men using them, and in the 
main every man must find his own way." 

[20] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Yale has a Bureau of Appointments with the 
object of assisting needy students and developing 
in every way their opportunities for self-help. 
This Bureau requests all who have work which 
students can do to let it be known at the office. 
It issues a small pamphlet on " Self -Help at Yale," 
and in reply to the question " Can it be done? " 
it says : " A sufficient answer is that for several 
years an average of about twenty-five men in 
each class of the Academical Department and 
perhaps as many more in the rest of the Univer- 
sity, in all say about two hundred men, have 
been paying their own way entirely, and about 
four hundred more have been earning more or 
less of their own expenses." 

Yale, in 1908, asked by circular of the students 
who were earning their way wholly or in part 
at that institution, how much money or its equiv- 
alent they had made, and in what kinds of work. 
Five hundred and sixty- four replies were received ; 
the whole amount actually earned, in term-time 
and in vacation, was about $214,449. The Grad- 
uate School men earned the largest amount, and 
the Academical School the next. The Sheffield 
Scientific Seniors came next, followed in order by 
the Academical Freshmen and the Sheffield Scien- 
tific Freshmen. The men longest on the ground, 

[21] 



Working One's Way Through College 

who have proved themselves capable and reliable, 
get more of the remunerative work. 

Columbia has a Committee on Employment for 
Students. The total earnings for 1907-1908, 
both with and without the Committee's assistance, 
were $95,855. The business depression led to a 
decrease in student incomes to a certain extent. 
In 1908, there were three hundred and eighty- 
eight requests from employers. There was a 
total of 722 students registered; they applied in 
many cases for a particular kind of work. 

At Cornell there are many who support them- 
selves in whole or in part by outside labor. Cor- 
nell does not undertake to secure employment for 
its students, owing to their large numbers, so that 
in finding jobs the individual is obliged to depend 
largely upon his own efforts. But the University 
Christian Association, through its Students' Em- 
ployment Bureau, is always ready to serve such 
as are in search of work. The Association dur- 
ing the University year ending June, 1909, had 
helped about two hundred and fifty students to 
work, aggregating in value nearly fourteen 
thousand dollars. 

The situation of the University of Chicago af- 
fords opportunity for the employment of many 
of its students. There both men and women are 

[22 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

able to earn a part of their expenses, if they have 
energy and ability. The University has an Em- 
ployment Agency associated with its Bureau of 
Information, conducted without charge. This 
Bureau keeps a register of students seeking work, 
and a list of positions. By letters addressed to 
employers stating the opportunity which the Bu- 
reau affords them to obtain capable help, and by 
personal interviews and applications, the Man- 
ager of the Bureau seeks to maintain and in- 
crease the number of positions which are open 
to University pupils. 

Many students at Armour Institute of Tech- 
nology are paying their way by doing various 
kinds of work such as may be found in a city like 
Chicago. At Dartmouth, five or six hundred 
pupils make part of their college money during 
term-time, and a few hundreds more earn money 
during the vacations. At Drake University, an 
enterprising student can make his own way. 
Baker University, Baldwin, Kansas, is the scene 
of successful efforts on the part of many students 
who aid themselves materially by their labor while 
carrying on their studies. The people of the 
city of Baldwin have done much in the way of 
providing work for students ; in fact, during the 
past several years there have been at certain 

[23] 



Working One's Way Through College 

seasons more calls for workers than the committee 
could supply. An Employment Bureau is main- 
tained by the Young Men's and Young Women's 
Christian Associations. 

The College of Liberal Arts of Northwestern 
University issues an encouraging pamphlet on 
this very subject. It gives lists of jobs, — 
Regular Employment, Positions Requiring Ex- 
perienced Men, and Odd Jobs. " No student can 
be guaranteed employment. Nevertheless, the ex- 
perience of many men at Northwestern justifies 
the assertion that no industrious young man, 
equipped with health and energy, need hesitate 
to make his own way." Evanston Academy of 
Northwestern University has a Committee on Em- 
ployment. The College Young Men's Christian 
Association also is of great assistance. From the 
first days of the Academy till now many of its 
students have earned a part or all of their ex- 
penses, so that the spirit of the school has taken 
a characteristic color. The Registrar of Leland 
Stanford Jr. University says : " Quite a number 
of students here are almost entirely self-sup- 
porting." 

These are but glimpses of the situation which, 
while not universal, is general at the higher in- 
stitutions of learning in America to-day. These 

[24] 



Working One's Way Through College 

are cited now that we may at the beginning base 
ourselves firmly on the fact that from Ocean to 
Ocean and from Lakes to Gulf are numerous col- 
leges in which young men and young women are 
making their way in whole or in part by their own 
efforts. Never before in the history of educa- 
tion have so many students been able to do this 
as to-day. Never before have the opportunities 
to this end been so numerous and the conditions 
so favorable. Never before have there existed so 
many well organized committees and methods 
within the schools for aiding the pupils to help 
themselves. 

It may be well at this point to indicate that 
favorable conditions exist for Indians and for 
colored people as well, for all without regard to 
race or creed. In some of the greatest univer- 
sities there is no color line, so that what is said 
in regard to opportunities in these applies to all 
alike. While other colleges do draw the color line, 
there are special schools for colored people and 
for Indians. It is therefore possible for members 
of all races that live in this land to make their 
way to education in some good schools. 



[25] 



CHAPTER III 

WAYS IN WHICH YOUNG MEN EARN 
MONEY WHILE IN COLLEGE 

No ambitious young man need go without a college 
training if he is determined to have it. A longer period 
may be required for the course; pleasant aspects of 
college life may have to be given up; self-denial and 
toil must be constant. But if there is willingness 
there need be no hindrance. — S. B. McCormick, 
Western University of Pennsylvania. 

THERE seems to be a general impression that 
the possibilities of making money while at 
school are confined to a few employments. The 
students who wait on table at summer resorts have 
been exploited as representative of college labor, 
whereas in fact the jobs and occupations of the 
students, both men and women, have a very wide 
range. It may be said indeed that whatever talent 
or skill a young man or young woman has, what- 
ever has been learned of work of hand or brain, 
may be made to come into play as helping toward 
paying school expenses, either during term-time 
or vacations. 

[26] 



Working One's Way Through College 

There is, so far as I am informed, but one line 
which the student himself draws against any kind 
of employment, and that is the duties of a valet. 
He refuses to serve the person of another in such 
duties as may be properly included under the 
term valet. Many, both men and women, how- 
ever, act as nurses, companions to invalids, readers 
for the aged, but these, of course, differ from the 
valet's kind of service. 

The farm lad, the clerk, the apprentice to a 
trade, the factory worker, the youth at almost 
any kind of labor, may be pleased to learn that 
the very things he knows how to do are the ones 
for which place may often be found at a college 
or in its vicinity. There is nothing he knows 
about planting and harvesting, care of animals 
or gardens, food production and distribution, 
building or tearing down, handling of machinery 
small or great, but may be made to serve his turn. 
The girl who can sew and mend, make candies or 
knit, who is a judge of knickknacks, who knows 
foods, can turn the knowledge to account. Some 
things are better than others ; some are less ex- 
hausting; but tutoring, waiting on table, or man- 
aging eating-clubs are only a few of the ways of 
helping to swell college pocket-books. One may 
quickly come to appreciate that certain of the 

[27] 



Working One's Way Through College 

duties he may have been forced against his pleas- 
ure to do at home, and which promised the least 
outlook, may be his best aids toward support at 
college. 

Whatever one knows may serve him in his 
course. I knew an Italian, skilled in several lan- 
guages, who while at school in Pittsburgh gave pri- 
vate lessons to a number of young ladies. He was 
recommended as a teacher by one of the profes- 
sors, who had a large social acquaintance and who 
thus obtained for him engagements with daugh- 
ters of several rich men, who paid him well. He 
also lectured in small churches and halls in the 
vicinity, accepting whatever sums were contrib- 
uted in the collections. He often returned to 
school with a heavy package of what he called 
" chicken feed," mostly pennies, nickels, and dimes, 
that, however, helped considerably toward his 
self-support. He also understood telegraphy and 
occasionally undertook this kind of work for brief 
terms. 

I knew well four young men who were at 
Princeton together. Two were sons of a minister, 
and were cousins of the others. The oldest of 
the group, one of the minister's sons, was a large, 
powerful, fine-looking youth. His father paid his 
railway fare to Princeton and gave him a little 

[28] 



Working One's Way Through College 

other help at the start. He speedily got on his 
feet there, coached in athletics, tutored, and did 
odd jobs besides. As soon as he felt confident 
he could manage the situation he sent for his 
brother and cousins. His brother, a smaller man 
but strong and active, became an expert in in- 
door athletics. One of the group became a crack 
short-distance runner, and the fourth the lead- 
ing pole vaulter at that time in the school. Be- 
tween athletics, tutoring, managing dining-clubs 
and occasional other occupations, the four men 
easily paid their way. All stood well as students. 
Two were sent to Athens to the first Olympic 
games some years ago. Three were distinctly 
among the most popular men at Princeton at the 
time. These were, to be sure, particularly fortu- 
nate in their personalities ; two were giants ; a third 
was a greyhound, graceful and handsome. They 
had no difficulty in making their way, and, being 
personally popular and abundantly strong for 
double work, took it all as a pleasant diversion 
rather than a disagreeable struggle. 

A few years ago a group of three youths, whose 
homes were in Ohio, were studying at Ann Arbor, 
and in the summer vacation went together through 
parts of Michigan selling in country places stere- 
opticons and views. We gathered from reports 

[29] 



Working One's Way Through College 

that they were in high spirits during that time, 
enjoyed the tramping, the sleeping out, the 
scenery, and the people, and were exceedingly 
successful in selling their wares. Their earnings 
during the season were so considerable that they 
had to make but little further effort during the 
following year at school. 

To fulfil the intentions of this book, it will be 
essential to give the prospective college man and 
woman numerous indications of the actual lines 
of endeavor which have been discovered and util- 
ized by many who have already fought the battle 
for self-earned education. These lists of jobs 
will open vistas for others by presenting concrete 
instances of their own possibilities. While 
Homer was unable to make a catalogue of ships 
which readers would be unwilling to skip, we can- 
not at this point do more than record outlines of 
work which the searcher after ways and means of 
self-help may glance over, and then return to 
from time to time for guidance and suggestion. 
The names of the Grecian ships are of no moment 
to us, but the particular ways by which college 
finances are strengthened may be of vital im- 
portance. 

It may suggest itself to the reader that one 
needs to have acquaintances and friends at a given 

[30] 



Working One's Way Through College 

school in order to win his way. But while this 
may be a means of simplifying a situation, it is 
by no means essential. One student at Harvard, 
whose home was distant, and who had no friends 
in Cambridge or Boston from whom to expect 
assistance, earned in three years and a half eight 
hundred and seventy-five dollars by clerical work 
and tutoring, besides winning scholarships. 

Another distributed literature, washed windows, 
tended furnaces, beat rugs and carpets, shovelled 
snow, shifted scenes, until he became a university 
guide and had, in addition, the care of a library 
during certain hours. 

Two others, a few months after they entered, 
found employment as janitors of the Old South 
Meeting House, Boston. They worked together 
about two hours every morning, getting the build- 
ing ready to open. In addition to the janitor 
work, one of them had to be in the building from 
2 :30 p. m. every day to 9 :30 a. m. the next. They 
had a well furnished room in the building. Their 
income from this was sufficient to meet necessary 
expenses. 

Harvard affords many temporary jobs. These 
are duplicated to some extent in some other in- 
stitutions, and the list may serve to indicate the 
varied avenues of employment. 

[31] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Some find openings as 



1. 


Advertising agents 


28. 


Gymnasts 


2. 


Athletic coaches 


29. 


Hotel helpers 


3. 


Attendants 


30. 


House painters 


4. 


Bell boys at clubs 


31. 


Janitors 


5. 


Boatmen 


32. 


Laboratory assistants 


6. 


Bookkeepers 


33. 


Lecturers 


7. 


Canvassers 


34,. 


Legal assistants 


8. 


Caretakers 


35. 


Letterers 


9. 


Carpenters 


36. 


Library workers 


10. 


Chair-movers 


37. 


Literary workers 


11. 


Chauffeurs 


38. 


Messengers 


12. 


Chemists 


39. 


Metre readers 


13. 


Clerks 


40. 


Monitors 


14. 


Collectors 


41. 


Museum workers 


15. 


Companions 


42. 


Musicians and mu- 


16. 


Computers 




sical directors 


17. 


Councillors in sum- 


43. 


Newspaper corre- 




mer camps 




spondents 


18. 


Directors 


44. 


Night-school teachers 


19. 


Draughtsmen 


45. 


Outing-class teach- 


20. 


Elevator men 




ers 


21. 


Engineers 


46. 


Physicians 


22. 


Farmers on outskirts 


47. 


Playground keepers 




of city 


48. 


Printers 


23. 


Furnace men 


49. 


Proctors 


24. 


Gardeners 


50. 


Proof-readers 


25. 


General men on sum- 


51. 


Railroad employees 




mer places 


52. 


Readers 


26. 


Guards 


53. 


Scene-shifters 


27. 


Guides 


54. 


Secretaries 



[32] 



* *- *-^»* 



Working One's Way Through College 

55. Snow shovellers 62. Surveyors 

56. Solicitors 63. Ticket-takers 

57. Statisticians 64. Time-keepers 

58. Stenographers 65. Tutors 

59. Summer-school 66. Typists 

teachers 67. Ushers 

60. Sunday-school teach- 68. Watch repairers 

ers 69. Watchmen 

61. Supervisors .ofi 70. Weighers 

studies 

One man at Harvard earned during term-time 
in four years $1,331 : by clerking $50 ; insurance 
soliciting one term $200; insurance soliciting the 
following term $350 ; singing in chapel $50 ; gas 
insurance $150 ; teaching Sunday school one sea- 
son $68 ; Sunday school another season $88 ; teach- 
ing evening school $100 ; tutoring $275. During 
a single vacation one earned $225 above expenses. 

The employments at Yale that yield returns to 
students are given here in the order of the number 
employed and the proportion of rewards. These 
are: 

1. Teaching 5. Serving as dining- 

2. Private tutoring hall " checkers " 

3. Service of eating- 6. Clerical work 

clubs 7. Canvassing 

4. Management of eat- 8. Editorial and news- 

ing-clubs paper work 

[ 33 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

9. Caring for furnaces 11. Street railway work 
and lawns 12. Music 

10. Typewriting and 
stenography 

Under miscellaneous jobs at Yale, we note only 
such as differ from the Harvard list, many being 
of the same kinds. Additional to these are: 

1. Civil engineering 14. Employment in lum- 

2. Jobs in banks. ber camps 

3. Work in boys' clubs 15. Service as Pullman 

4. Surveying conductor 

5. Mason work 16. Sleight of hand en- 

6. Selling violets tertainments 

7. College guides 17. Collecting geological 

8. Operating stereopti- specimens 

con lanterns 18. Getting out blotters 

9. Meat-cutting as advertisements 

10. Fencing instruction 19. Wheeling invalid 

11. Publishing pro- chairs 

grammes 20. Addressing envelopes 

12. Interpreting 21. Selling spring water 

13. Testing in rope fac- 

tory 

At Columbia, many have been occupied in tutor- 
ing, and the range of subjects is large. This 
pays from $1 to $3 per hour. The position of 
summer companion earns $50 to $125 per month. 
Summer hotel clerks have been paid from $25 to 
$40 a month. Summer bank clerks received from 

[34] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

$25 to $50 per month. Boys' club managers 
were paid $250 for the college year. Statistical 
work is paid $2 a day. Summer farm work earns 
$25 a month and expenses. 

Draughtsmen obtained from $30 to $50 a month. 
A proctor for examinations got $2 to $5 a 
day. A bookkeeper was paid from $10 to $15 
a week. A watcher at the polls earned $5 and 
canvassers from $2 to $15 per day. The average 
earnings per student were in term-time about $200, 
and in vacations $175. 

The most usual work to which students at Cor- 
nell resort is waiting on table. Owing to absence 
of dormitories for the men students there, a large 
number of boarding-houses have sprung up in the 
vicinity of the campus, and in practically all of 
these student waiters are employed. So numer- 
ous are such positions that it is seldom, if ever, 
that an energetic young man who is really able 
and willing to work cannot find an opening of this 
kind. The time required for such occupation is 
on an average about three and a half hours per 
day* and the usual compensation is one's board; 
but in rare cases individuals have been known to 
get their room rent as well. 

Another means of self-support there is tending 
furnaces for professors and townspeople; the 

[ 35 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

compensation is generally one's room, or if paid in 
cash five or six dollars per month, according to 
the amount of labor involved. Considerable tutor- 
ing also, at seventy-five cents or more per hour, 
especially in such subjects as mathematics and 
physics, is to be had at certain seasons of the year 
by members of the upper classes who have dis- 
tinguished themselves in scholarship ; and occa- 
sionally such students, in their senior years, are 
appointed to assistantships in the various labora- 
tories with appropriate compensations. A few 
students are able to earn their way by correspond- 
ing for out-of-town papers or by reporting for 
the local press. 

Among other kinds of work resorted to at Cor- 
nell may be mentioned: 

1. Copying or office 5. Reading proof on the 

work for profes- University or local 

sors papers 

2. Copying in the li- 6. Collecting bills 

brary 7. Running laundry 

3. Arranging collections agencies 

in the museums 8. Farm labor on the 

4. Typewriting theses University farm 

In the University of Chicago, the jobs that are 
additional to those already spoken of are : 

1. Working for express 2. Work in railway sta- 
companies tions 

[36] 



Working One's Way Through College 

3. Carrying newspapers 9. Operating soda foun- 

4. Canvassing for City tains 

Directory 10. Posting advertise- 

5. Canvassing for City ments 

Telephone Com- 11. Ushering in theatres 
pany 12. Moving and dusting 

6. Operating night tel- books 

ephone switch- 13. Pen copying- work 
board 14. Decorating halls for 

7. Night clerking in entertainments 

hotels 15. Assisting photogra- 

8. Packing books and phers 

furniture 

Persons with special training in certain lines 
are generally said to have advantages over oth- 
ers in self-help at school, but experience at the 
University of Chicago has proved that students of 
ability and perseverance may succeed even without 
initial skill in any one line. 

In order to guard against incompetent tutor- 
ing, the Board of Recommendations keeps on file 
a list of official tutors who have been indorsed by 
the heads of departments in which they offer in- 
struction. Those who desire pupils should regis- 
ter with the board. 

The University Service employs many students 
for a limited number of hours as clerks or mes- 
sengers in the various offices in the institution, 
paying from twenty to thirty cents per hour, 

[37] 



Working One's Way Through College 

compensating them with a voucher covering the 
whole or part of their tuition. Members of the 
University Choir are granted remissions of tui- 
tion to the amount of $1,200, each person receiv- 
ing a portion or all of his tuition fees, according 
to his ability. Members of the University Band 
receive help in a similar way, the appropriation 
for tuition for members amounting to more than 
$2,500. Another source of income is waiting on 
table in the Men's Commons, the compensation 
being furnished in board. 



[38 1 



CHAPTER IV 

MORE WAYS FOR YOUNG MEN TO EARN 
AT COLLEGE 

I advise every one who can possibly devote his 
time to a college course to do so. If he must work in 
order to get money, I agree that he should, because 
it is a good thing to get a college education even if 
one does not get out of it all the possibilities. — 
Thomas Arkle Clark, University of Illinois. 

IV /TANY students at Armour Institute are em- 
«*•'•■■ ployed as assistants in the various depart- 
ments, and the labor varies from janitor-work to 
assisting the professors. The remuneration va- 
ries from twenty to thirty cents per hour, and 
this amount is applied upon tuition fees. The 
department stores of Chicago, many industrial 
concerns which employ draughtsmen at odd times, 
groceries and markets which need clerks on Sat- 
urdays and afternoons, the newspapers, express 
companies, and railways, are some of the various 
avenues opened to these young people. 

At Dartmouth, nearly two hundred young men 
find work of some kind at the College Commons or 

[39] 



Working One's Way Through College 

at the Hanover Inn, a hotel run by the college, 
as waiters or workers in the kitchens. Many get 
some help as monitors in the class-room or the 
chapel, or as assistants in the college library. 
Quite a number work for the professors, caring 
for furnaces, mowing lawns, and so on. A few 
find employment in the village; many become 
agents for the sale of goods of one kind or an- 
other. Quite a number are reporters for news- 
papers. In the vacations many are engaged at 
the seashore or mountain hotels. Some are con- 
ductors or ticket agents upon railroads for the 
summer travel. 

In regard to the situation at Swarthmore, Pro- 
fessor Hoadley writes : 

" Students' service here takes such forms as bring- 
ing the college mail from the general post office and 
distributing it three times a day; assisting in the 
Registrar's office, doing typewriting, and getting out 
report cards and general lists for reference ; assisting 
in the library; and eight young men are helping to 
serve meals in the dining-room, for which they get 
their rooms and meals furnished. 

" Some few care for the furnaces of near-by neigh- 
bors, for which they get one dollar a week. Some 
have agencies, as that of a biscuit company ; for ath- 
letic goods, for magazines and calendars, and so on. 
One is now taking subscriptions for a magazine in 
competition for a prize. Six of the young men are 

[40] 



Working One's Way Through College 

correspondents or reporters for Philadelphia papers, 
for which they receive five dollars a column. There 
is a greater opportunity for boys to get something 
remunerative than for girls; yet many girls do find 
employment that pays them." 

At Ohio State University, Columbus, there are 
several methods of self-help employed. First, the 
College of Agriculture uses student labor so far 
as possible, in carrying forward its operations in 
crop production, dairying, and the general care 
of farm property and live stock. This is paid for 
by the hour. It has always been the means of 
help to a considerable number of the agricultural 
students. Second, through the University, oc- 
casional opportunities arise for advanced stu- 
dents to assist in the laboratories or in other 
clerical or technical work for departments. This 
opens opportunities for capable young men who 
have been there long enough to demonstrate their 
capacity and fitness. Third, the Young Men's 
Christian Association does a very large amount 
of gratuitous service in locating young men for 
occasional employment. Among these occupa- 
tions are Saturday clerkships, which usually pay 
from two to three dollars for a long day's work, 
waiting at table for students' clubs or acting 
as stewards of such clubs, reporting on news- 
papers, collecting agencies, and so on, 

[41] 



Working One's Way Through College 

A large number of young men at Oberlin se- 
cure opportunities to partially support themselves. 
From one-third to one-half of the Oberlin boys 
earn a considerable part of their own expenses. 
A goodly number are entirely dependent upon 
themselves. On the other hand, it is admitted 
that some boys who make the attempt to work 
their own way fail every year, but they are few. 
Oberlin is a small town and does not offer large 
opportunities for work of any sort; but it is to 
be considered that expenses there are light. The 
citizens are in sympathy with the students and 
are ready to turn over to them such work as they 
have to do, provided the young men do it well. 
Oberlin is anxious to attract self-supporting stu- 
dents and to encourage and aid them, The boy, 
however, has to seek work and do it well. 

I have personally noted during a summer season 
half a dozen Oberlin boys at work with a " tree 
surgeon," an expert in treating valuable trees. 
Some of these youths had been with him three 
years, and were paid according to experience. 
The sums which are received per day by the ex- 
perienced men are decidedly encouraging to youths 
who seek to help themselves to an education. 

The Young Men's Christian Association at 
Oberlin has a department for Student Help; 

[42] 



Working One's Way Through College 

nearly ten thousand dollars has been earned by 
the men securing work through the Association. 

At Drake University it is possible for a young 
man to earn during the school year from one hun- 
dred and twenty-five to five hundred dollars. This 
may be accomplished by doing odd jobs mornings, 
evenings, and Saturdays. Some young men in the 
school earn from two to five dollars every Satur- 
day. During the summer and other vacations 
they can earn the remainder of their expenses. 
Work in Des Moines is ordinarily easy for the 
student to procure and is remunerative. 

A recent canvass at De Pauw showed that 
more than a hundred boys are partially or wholly 
self-supporting. Of this number all are earning 
their board or its equivalent, while about half of 
them are earning both board and room, and a 
few are doing much better than that. There are 
a few who earn absolutely all their expenses while 
in school and during vacations. 

The catalogue of jobs at De Pauw varies but 
slightly from such as have been mentioned. But 
it includes in addition: 

1. Pressing and cleanr 3. Picking apples, cher- 

ing clothes ries, berries, etc. 

2. Caring for horses and 4. Managing the col- 

cows lege paper 

[43] 



Working One's Way Through College 

5. Managing other stu- 8. Cartooning 

dent enterprises 9. Mending shoes 

6. Acting as stewards 10. Answering telephone 

for fraternity calls at college 

halls dormitories 

7. Teaching public 

speaking 

One young man states that he has been at De 
Pauw five years, and has not known one worthy 
student to leave school permanently for pecuniary 
reasons. He advises, however, that the pros- 
pective student should arrive with at least fifty 
dollars. He says he is earning at present three 
and a quarter dollars a week, besides board and 
room. 

At Evanston Academy the care of a furnace 
pays from one dollar to one and a quarter 
per week. Five furnaces will pay for one's 
board and room. The time taken encroaches but 
little on study hours ; the student goes twice a 
day in moderate weather to the houses he serves. 
He may be able to care for five furnaces in an 
hour and a half at morning and the same at 
night. A newspaper route pays the same as a 
furnace, but the time employed is longer ; there is a 
constant demand in winter for carriers. Irregu- 
lar work is paid for at the rate of twenty-five cents 
per hour. While the apparent cost at Evanston 

[ 44 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

is higher than in many places, the opportunities 
for .work are numerous, and it is well rewarded. 

As instances of success there of this kind, we 
may cite the following. A young Canadian en- 
tered that school with twenty-five dollars, and 
soon found work at his trade, that of a sign- 
painter. His first task was the painting of a 
large furniture van. He waited on table during 
summer months. He secured regular employment 
with a firm of blacksmiths and wheel- wrights, 
doing all the wagon lettering. 

Another, also a painter, at once received 
enough for living expenses; he soon got a bet- 
ter job, one that paid from eight to ten dollars 
a month besides living expenses. He became 
waiter on table at a large boarding-house where 
there was a gentleman afflicted with heart dis- 
ease. This gentleman required a special treat- 
ment and so paid the cost of the young man's 
frequent trips to Chicago to learn the process 
and then hired him to administer the treatment 
for an hour each evening, paying five dollars per 
week. When summer came, the two went to a 
resort, where the treatments were continued. 

Several students at Evanston have been mem- 
bers of the United States Life Saving Crew, 
whose station is a few steps from the Academy* 

[45] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

Members receive sixty dollars a month from April 
to December, and have their service so arranged 
that the men are able to attend classes in the 
Academy or College. Eligibility is determined by 
experience in boating and sound bodily health. 
Certain students have received appointments in 
the Evanston Police Department. One has sold 
Oriental rugs on commission. Evanston students 
have also earned money by waxing and polishing 
floors ; putting up and taking down storm-doors, 
windows, and screens ; conducting agencies for 
school emblems, fountain pens, stationery, kodaks, 
and so on. 

Another student went to Evanston without 
clear intentions as to earning his expenses. Af- 
ter he had been in town a short time, an uncle 
wrote him that he had a large lot of honey on 
hand and needed to turn it into cash. Would 
the young man help him to do this? The honey 
was sent and was sold to the boarding-houses of 
the city. One hundred and twenty-five pounds 
were disposed of the first hour. The task proved 
so agreeable that the student since that time has 
had weekly remittances of honey and eggs from 
the country, which he has sold on Saturdays. His 
trade has so increased that during the past year 
it has more than met all his expenses. 

[46] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Another landed in Evanston with five dollars. 
He took such work as he could find on the cam- 
pus, odd jobs, furnaces, waiting on table. Dur- 
ing the vacation of another student he took his 
position as coachman, doing this to his own ad- 
vantage and keeping the job for the other man 
while he went home for Christmas. He set type 
for one of the town papers during the night pre- 
ceding publication. He secured a free room, and 
found that by working three or four hours a 
day he provided for nearly all his expenses. 

Another was brought up on a farm. He later 
became a locomotive fireman, then a truckman in 
the stockyards of Chicago. He worked as a 
painter, then as salesman in a department store, 
and last, before going to school, as a switchman 
in a Chicago railroad yard. At Evanston he did 
his own cooking and roomed over a barn. Later 
he accepted work at a boarding-house where he 
was so faithful that he was granted a comfortable 
room, board, and other items of regular expense. 

In Ohio University, Athens, about sixty boys 
are paying board by work. Twenty-five act as 
waiters ; ten run boarding-clubs ; eight earn from 
six to fifteen dollars a month as janitors of clubs, 
rooms, and churches. Reporting, collecting 
laundry, agencies for firms, clerking, and odd 

[47] 



Working One's Way Through College 

jobs are some of the means of self-help there. 
One youth who later attended that institution was 
teaching a country school when he decided to go 
to college. He was graduated after five years ; 
and his salary, which before was forty dollars, 
is now twice as much. 

Wooster University reports about fifty per 
cent of its students as working their way par- 
tially or entirely. Tufts College, Boston, has a 
Committee on Student Employment. The Young 
Men's Christian Association Bureau at Ohio Wes- 
leyan University gives its help to young people 
seeking work. At Union College, Schenectady, 
there is an Employment Bureau; students there 
earn from two to four dollars a week during term- 
time without seriously interfering with studies. 
Tulane University, New Orleans, has an efficient 
Bureau of Self-help. 

At the State University of Iowa, many can 
earn in whole or in part their expenses by wait- 
ing on table, tending furnaces and similar jobs. 
The Young Men's and Young Women's Chris- 
tion Associations conduct a free labor bureau, 
which is at the service of the students. At the 
University of Rochester, the Registrar looks 
after student employment in the city, finding 
work in teaching private pupils, etc. Those who 

[48] 



Working One's Way Through College 

are skilled in useful arts are declared to have the 
best chances there. 

At the University of Wyoming, many young 
men earn their way. In the University of Califor- 
nia, the Young Men's and Young Women's Chris- 
tian Associations act as bureaus of self-support. 
At Brown University, the Young Men's Christian 
Association helps pupils to find work. 

At Leland Stanford Jr. University, the princi- 
pal ways of earning are waiting on table, doing 
stenographic work of various kinds, assisting in 
the laboratories, canvassing for books, magazines, 
etc. The greatest number are employed as waiters. 
Next on the list come the stenographers, as there 
is constant demand for work of this kind in con- 
nection with that institution. Quite a number of 
the students aid the professors in caring for large 
laboratory courses. Some few are engaged in cor- 
recting papers, and a certain per cent by their 
hustling and energy are able to make enough while 
canvassing during the summer to cover their ex- 
penses for the remainder of the year. 

At Boston University College of Liberal Arts, 
the students have the advantage of situation in 
the heart of a great city. This means employ- 
ment of all kinds. This school adds to the list of 
jobs already noted: 

[49] 



Working One's Way Through College 

1. Acting as secretary 5. Work in social set- 

2. Service in hotels tlements 

3. Service in private 6. Work in places of 

families entertainment 

4. Work in churches 

At Northwestern University some students have 
found employment as follows : 

1. Acting as special 6. As typesetter 

policeman 7. As nurse 

2. Pumping pipe or- 8. As piano tuner 

gan 9. As player on pipe 

3. Janitor in a flat organ 

4. As barber 10. Addressing envelopes 

5. As preacher 11. Acting as pallbearer 

It should also be noted that in addition to the 
splendid efforts of students at Evanston to earn 
their way through college, the heroic struggles of 
some of the men in the professional schools there 
are very successful. The course in the medical 
school is most exacting, yet many of the men are 
constantly setting inspiring examples of ambition 
and industry. One man earned two-thirds of his 
expenses during his freshman year, and all ex- 
penses for the two succeeding years, by a paper 
route, which with its early hours and constant 
exposure in all weathers, was especially hard. 
During his senior year he waited on table, having 
sold out his route. 

[50] 



Working One's Way Through College 

A unique example of how work may be crowded 
in between lectures and clinics is furnished by a 
colored student, who for two years acted as porter 
on the Twentieth Century Limited between Chi- 
cago and Cleveland. He left Chicago at 2 :30 
p. m. one day, returning at 7:30 the next morn- 
ing. He attended school all that day and next 
morning, leaving on the same trip again at 2:30. 
His earnings averaged eighty dollars a month and 
he maintained an invalid father, a mother, and a 
sister during his course. Another Northwestern 
man, by a paper route, earned all his expenses 
for four years and had one thousand dollars in the 
bank when he was graduated. He earned over a 
hundred dollars a month on an average, and was 
married before the beginning of his course. 

Several students there are teachers ; one is in- 
structor in psychology in a prominent school. 
Many earn room, or room and board, and often 
some additional cash, by caring for doctors' of- 
fices, clerking in drug-stores, or doing janitor 
work. Many are guards on the elevated or con- 
ductors on the surface lines. One man kept a 
medical book-store; one was a clerk of elections; 
one earned his third-year expenses by taking 
charge of a boys' club in a social settlement, and 
his senior expenses by looking after an invalid at 

[51] 



Working One's Way Through College 

night. Some address mail matter, and some heave 
coal, welcoming any job that helps to pay the 
cost of their education. 

Williams College reports certain youths as do- 
ing well with the business of hauling and handling 
trunks, managing laundries, acting as summer 
guides and gymnasium assistants. Purdue gives 
an example of marked success in making and sell- 
ing programmes of college games. Minnesota had 
a youth who for a time acted as assistant of the 
County Recording Clerk. At Syracuse many help 
themselves ; the matter is in the hands of the Sec- 
retary of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, who works up positions, looks after locating 
students in homes, and makes himself generally 
useful. 

The Student Help at the University of Michi- 
gan is in the hands of the Graduate Secretary of 
the Students' Christian Association. Albion Col- 
lege has an Employment Bureau, consisting of 
three members of the faculty, and it is generally 
understood throughout the city that persons need- 
ing help can procure it promptly by telephoning 
this committee. A number of students find regu- 
lar work at specific hours in certain shops and 
factories, and some of them put in a full day on 
Saturday. 

[52] 



Working One's Way Through College 

In Chicago, one summer, there was a strike 
among the stokers on the lake boats. The boat 
lines advertised for- stokers, and it proved hard 
to find men. Half a dozen University youths took 
jobs for six weeks; they enjoyed it greatly and 
said they had had the time of their lives. 

A certain mother had two boys and a little 
money; she gave a small amount to her sons, and 
they went to Yale. There they bought a restau- 
rant, managed it, and hired other students to work 
for them. They made a success of the enterprise. 
The proprietors found it somewhat difficult to 
maintain strict discipline with their fellow stu- 
dents who were also their hirelings. One day one 
of the owners was walking through the place in- 
specting it, during meal time. He saw one of the 
boys carrying a plate of soup, but carelessly hav- 
ing a finger in it. He said sternly, " Take your 
finger out of that soup." The other smiled and 
retorted, "Why should I? It isn't hot." This 
brought a laugh from customers, and the youth- 
ful owner thereafter admonished his employees in 
private. 

Elbert Hubbard says, in a pamphlet endorsed 
and reprinted by that institution: 

" At Tuskegee there are nearly sixteen hundred 
students and one hundred and fifty teachers. There 

[53] 



Working One's Way Through College 

are two classes of students, ' day school ' and ' night 
school ' students. The night school students work all 
day at any kind of task they are called upon to do. 
They receive their board, clothing, and a home; they 
pay no tuition, but are paid for their labor, the 
amount being placed to their credit; so when fifty 
dollars is accumulated they can enter as day students. 

1 The day students make up the bulk of the schol- 
ars. Each pays fifty dollars a year. These all work 
every other day at manual labor or some useful trade. 

1 Tuskegee has fully twice as many applicants as 
it can accommodate ; but there is one kind of applicant 
who never receives any favor. This is the man who 
says he has the money to pay his way, and wishes 
to take the academic course only. The answer al- 
ways is, ' Please go elsewhere. There are plenty of 
schools that want your money. The fact that you 
have money will not exempt you here from useful 
labor.' 

" The Tuskegee farm consists of twenty-five hun- 
dred acres. There are four hundred head of cattle, 
about five hundred hogs, two hundred horses, great 
flocks of chickens, geese, ducks, and turkeys, and 
many swarms of bees. It is the intention to raise all 
the food that is consumed on the place, and to manu- 
facture all supplies. There are wagon shops, a saw- 
mill, a harness shop, a shoe shop, a tailor shop, a 
printing plant, a model laundry, a canning establish- 
ment. Finer fruit and vegetables I never saw, and 
the thousands of peach, plum, and apple trees, and 
the vast acreage of berries that have been planted, 
will surely some day be a goodly source of income." 

[54] 



Working One's Way Through College 

At Tuskegee, in the night school, students have 
opportunity to work out all or most of their ex- 
penses. Tuition is free. Day school pupils are 
given an opportunity to work out from one and 
a half to three dollars a month on their board. 

It should be noted by way of warning to the in- 
considerate that there are certain methods of 
earning at school that come under the ban of the 
authorities and involve lack of moral discernment. 
For instance, some indigent pupils at different 
schools have been known to sell their note-books 
to rich but idle youths. Sometimes large sums 
have been paid for these. This sort of thing is 
branded as dishonorable, is against the regulations 
of the colleges, and is severely punished when 
detected. 



[55] 



CHAPTER V 

STILL MORE WAYS FOR YOUNG MEN 
TO EARN AT COLLEGE 

We need not so much an increase in beneficiary- 
funds as an increase of the opportunities for students 
to earn their living. Aid in education, if given with- 
out exacting a corresponding return, becomes demor- 
alizing. If it is earned by the student as he goes, it 
has just the opposite effect. — President Hadley of 
Yale. 

AT the Temple University, Philadelphia, the 
authorities endeavor to find positions for 
such of the students as need them. Many have 
secured work. Any one going there should have 
money enough to see himself through for six 
months. It is necessary for students to register, 
as employers wish to see personally those they in- 
tend to consider as applicants for work. If one 
takes the evening classes there, he can readily find 
work with the department stores during the day- 
time. If he studies at the Temple during the 
day he can often get employment in the stores 

[56] 



Working One's Way Through College 

on Saturdays and during the holidays. The 
Temple has an Employment Bureau. 

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, 
for colored and Indian young people, requires 
that expenses be paid partly in cash and partly 
in labor. Students who enter the work-class for 
their first year are given an opportunity to labor 
for wages six days in a week and attend night 
school eight months. Work-students usually earn 
from fifteen to twenty dollars per month, and so 
are able not only to pay their board for the year 
but to accumulate a balance which helps to pro- 
vide their food the second year, when they enter 
the day school or begin a trade. Pupils in the 
day-school classes, or those who wish to devote 
all their time to academic studies, attend four or 
five days in the week and work for wages one or 
two days. Their earnings are deducted from 
their board bill each month. 

Atlanta University for colored people has both 
boarding and day students. The day students 
help themselves in many ways by doing various 
kinds of work in the city. All boarding pupils 
are required to work one hour a day for the in- 
stitution as part payment for their board. Each 
student may work two hours a day and thereby 
reduce the charges for board by two dollars per 

[57] 



Working One's Way Through College 

month. The employment is dining-room work, 
janitor work, sewing, care of the lawns and drive- 
ways of the campus, library and laboratory 
assistance, and miscellaneous jobs under the over- 
sight of the business manager or other officers. 
During a recent year, two or three students 
earned a small income by teaching some of the 
lowest classes. The boarding students seldom do 
anything outside the institution during the school 
term. 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College of 
Texas has a fund known as the Student Labor 
Fund, appropriated by the Legislature for aiding 
worthy young men in their efforts to get a col- 
lege education. A limited number of students 
who have no other means of paying their college 
expenses are allowed to earn as much as twenty 
dollars a month from this fund, provided they 
can do so without interfering with regular col- 
lege work. The price paid for ordinary student 
labor is twelve and a half cents an hour, and for 
skilled labor as much as twenty-five cents an hour 
is sometimes paid. More than one hundred stu- 
dents are now earning money by various kinds of 
jobs on the campus, waiting on the tables at the 
mess hall, assisting in the laundry, firing boilers, 
doing farm work, milking cows, feeding hogs, 

[58] 



Working One's Way Through College 

assisting in the creamery, doing stenography, 
etc. 

The students at Dickinson College help them- 
selves in various ways. Many obtain positions 
as waiters in the boarding-clubs, and there are 
quite a number of college positions which are as- 
signed to worthy and needy men. 

The students at Bowdoin have made a thor- 
ough investigation of this subject, with reports 
from 192 pupils resident at the college in May, 
1907. Of these, 167 earned all or part of their 
college expenses. The student there who does 
nothing toward self-support is the exception 
rather than the rule. These 167 men earned dur- 
ing the year 1906-7, including scholarships, prizes, 
and incomes of vacations/ $37,709. The aver- 
age amount earned was $225. In the senior class, 
twenty men earned during that year $5,670 ; these 
same men earned during their college course $12,- 
045. Here then were twenty men in a single class 
who during four years earned an average of $902. 

One senior reported his earnings for each year 
as follows: $137; $264; $320; $549. Another, 
who received no scholarships or prizes, reported 
his earnings as $139; $359; $388; $488. An- 
other, who acted as steamboat clerk in summer, 
and as proctor and tutor the rest of the year, 

[59] 



Working One's Way Through College 

gave his income for four years as $275; $280; 
$317; $438. Still another earned from $400 to 
$520 each year working for a daily newspaper. 
One man earned $319 his first year, and $451 his 
second year in twelve occupations. Another at 
the same time secured $473 and $790 as an 
agent for hatters, engravers, express companies, 
touring parties, and census bureaus. 
Bowdoin adds to our lists : 

1. Clerk for Republi- 15. Post office clerk 

can State Com- 16. Fitter in iron works 
mittee 17. Summer-school 

2. Messenger for bank teacher 

3. Work on ice cart 18. Express deliverer 

4. Nurse for an invalid 19. Head bell-boy, sum- 

5. Clerk in custom mer hotel 

house 20. Engineer 

6. Bank clerk 21. Helper on electric 

7. Conductor on street cars 

cars 22. Census clerk 

8. Time-keeper in fac- 23. Organizer touring 

tory party to Alaska 

9. Hotel steward 24. Chauffeur 

10. Publisher of Town 25. Care-taker of house 

Directory 26. Butler 

11. Railway agent 27. Clerk in drug-store 

12. Canning factory clerk 28. State bath-house at- 

13. Time-keeper for tele- tendant 

phone company 29. Clerk in freight of- 

14. Government surveyor fice 

[60] 



Working One's Way Through College 

30. Machinist 51. Assistant in fores- 

31. Clerk American Ex- try- work 

press Company 52. Manager of college 

32. Life guard, Nan- paper 

tasket Beach 53. Working on athletic 

33. Paper-mill worker field 

34. Butcher 54. Art building assist- 

35. Dairy farmer ant 

36. Violinist in orchestra 55. Agent for athletic 

37. Selling medals and goods 

pins to high 56. Caring for grand 
schools stand and field 

38. Agent steamboat 57. Serving night lunches 

company 58. Managing college 

39. Assistant shipper at book-store 

sawmill 59. Sawing wood 

40. Manager of sporting 60. Automobile agent 

camp 61. Insurance agent 

41. Purser on steamboat 62. Destroying pests on 

42. Fisherman trees 

43. Preacher 63. Soliciting advertise- 

44. Salesman in meat ments 

market 64. Collecting bills for 

45. Baseball player merchants 

46. Night watchman 65. Soliciting for cor- 

47. House painter respondence 

48. Steward for frater- schools 

nity 66. Selling nursery stock 

49. Publishing college 67. Conducting newspa- 

calendar per agency 

50. Inspector in a city 68. Painting battle ships 

gymnasium 69. Giving concerts 

[61] 



Working One's Way Through College 

70. Selling railroad tick- 72. Soliciting for mag- 

ets azines 

71. Working for mail- 73. Representing teach- 

order house ers' agency 

At Washington and Jefferson, the General 
Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation undertakes to find work for as many stu- 
dents as possible, and has succeeded well. There 
are boarding-houses that employ students as 
agents and to wait on table. Waiters are also 
employed in the Academy dormitory. Some of 
the stores employ students on Saturdays. Prob- 
ably fifteen or twenty students thus help them- 
selves. 

Some students at Allegheny College act as 
waiters and janitors. The college itself offers 
work to some twenty-five or thirty each year, 
mostly providing janitor service at boarding- 
clubs and some work in the town. At Ohio Wes- 
leyan, the General Secretary of the Young Men's 
Christian Association conducts a Bureau of Self- 
help. A number are earning their way. Some 
engage in paper-hanging, and some in making 
picture frames for the college. Beloit states 
that forty-four per cent of the men in college in 
1909 were earning part of their expenses, and 
nine per cent were earning all their expenses. 

[62] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Among other means to this end were photography, 
distributing hand bills, and making pennants. 
Beloit has an Employment Bureau on a business 
basis. It keeps in touch with leading manufac- 
turers and other business firms of the city. A 
careful canvass of the city for employment is 
made at the opening of each year and at inter- 
vals, as seems desirable. At Cincinnati Univer- 
sity the Secretary aims to find employment for 
students. 

Leland Stanford Jr. has an Employment Bu- 
reau under the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion. Some students earn their board by three 
hours' work per day, or board and room by four 
hours a day. Some labor as bookbinders, me- 
chanics, carpenters, or stenographers, while do- 
mestic work is an avenue used by women. Board 
and rent are earned by women by waiting on 
table, washing dishes, general housework, house- 
cleaning. Those who have a trade are at a de- 
cided advantage. All must know how to do one 
thing well. Skill is essential. In the summer, 
demand for canvassers is constant. 

The Polytechnic University College of Liberal 
Arts and Engraving, Brooklyn, maintains a Com- 
mittee on Students' Aid, to find work and to rec- 
ommend for scholarships and loans. 

[63] 



Working One's Way Through College 

At Iowa College, the chances are very good for 
self-support in work about the town. At Adel- 
phi College, Brooklyn, some act as bell-ringers; 
others have evening work in offices, give music 
lessons, or act as companions or readers to aged 
and infirm persons. At Lafayette, some wait on 
table at eating-clubs or at other boarding-houses ; 
some act as clerks on half holidays and evenings 
in stores, or as agents for laundry and other mat- 
ters connected with the student body. At Brig- 
ham Young College, Logan, Utah, some are 
janitors or are given critical work in reading com- 
positions, and some are employed in business 
houses. 

Antioch has at least one-fourth of its students 
making their way partially, while some are doing 
this entirely. In Georgetown University, Wash- 
ington, D. C.j those who attend sessions of the 
Law and Dental Schools in the evening are able 
to find employment during the day. Some stu- 
dents at Alabama Polytechnic Institute serve as 
watchmen, waiters, janitors; others tend fur- 
naces, assist in laboratory and clerical work, or 
find employment as stenographers. 

Fort Worth University provides work for a 
limited number by service in the dining-room 
and as janitors. For these services they are al- 

[64] 



Working One's Way Through College 

lowed about half their expenses of board, room, 
laundry, tuition, and usual school incidentals. At 
Miami, a few wait on table ; some manage student 
clubs, tend furnaces, look after laundry, and do 
house chores. At Columbia, many students re- 
duce expenses by uniting in small groups for 
light housekeeping. 

A Boston newsboy, a Jew, is now in Harvard 
University. He sold newspapers to carry him 
through school, and then won a scholarship. He 
is less than eighteen, and is still as practical a 
young merchant as you could find, and can often 
be seen with his bundle of papers just as watch- 
ful for sales as if he had never known what it 
was to enter the confines of Harvard yard. 

The Current Literature Scholarship is a unique 
and important aid to many students. The mag- 
azine Current Literature has perfected a plan 
by which it can, on strictly business principles, 
enable any number of students to secure the 
money required to pay all necessary college ex- 
penses, if they are willing to demonstrate their 
fitness by the fulfillment of specified conditions. 
A Scholarship Fund, open to any young man or 
woman of intelligence and good character, and 
available in any recognized college in the coun- 
try, has been established. The details of the 

[65] 



Working One's Way Through College 

project have been submitted to leading educators 
of the United States, and have received the writ- 
ten endorsement of college presidents in nearly 
every State in the Union. In the year 1908, 
thirty-eight students in all qualified under this 
fund. The college year 1909-1910 opened with 
sixty-eight Current Literature students in forty- 
seven different colleges. The experiences of many 
successful student workers have shown the plan to 
be practicable and relatively easy. A period of 
nine months from the date of enrolment is allowed 
to fulfil the scholarship requirements. An aver- 
age of less than two subscriptions for each 
working day is sufficient to qualify a candidate 
who is so situated that he can devote only a 
little spare time each day to the work. High- 
school scholars and students already in college 
are of this class. But it is not necessary to 
take anywhere near the full nine months. One 
young man got nearly half of the required 350 
subscriptions in four weeks. Three months, 
about the length of the summer's vacation, is 
therefore ample time in which to qualify. The 
cash value of such a scholarship is $525, for the 
first year; renewals and new orders may produce 
the same amount each succeeding year of the 
course. 

[66] 



Working One's Way Through College 

HOW TO PAY COLLEGE EXPENSES 

" I often see in the papers the query, ' How can 
this or that boy or girl get a liberal education ? ' I 
used to puzzle myself with it. My father was a com- 
fortable farmer. Two elder sisters had been gradu- 
ated at Mount Holyoke, an elder brother had, mainly, 
worked his way through college as a bookbinder. I 
could not think of burdening my parents with the 
heavy cost of a college education. So I applied to 
the agent of a life insurance company for insurance 
for a sufficient amount to carry me to and through 
college with what money I could earn by teaching 
during winter vacations. I found two gentlemen who 
would keep up the premiums and take the policy in 
their names as security, lending me the needed money 
and taking my notes with interest, payable as soon 
as possible after the college course was finished. So 
I had no bother about funds. 

" Out of college, three years of teaching paid off 
all my debts. Then I had the old policy put in my 
own name and have kept it alive for fifty years. 

" Any boy or girl can do likewise. If the lenders 
of the money want a perfect security, make the policy 
of the endowment kind. I have set a number of am- 
bitious boys and girls on this procedure, to their joy. 

" If I were a millionaire with sons and daughters 
to educate, I would have them do this very thing. It 
would teach them economy and self-dependence." — 
A. S. Fiske. 



[67] 



CHAPTER VI 

WAYS BY WHICH YOUNG WOMEN EARN 
MONEY WHILE IN COLLEGE 

Entire self-support is difficult for a student woman 
but by no means impossible. — Oberlin Pamphlet. 

I AM convinced that student women have not 
as yet fully developed their possible ways 
and means for self-help. There is room for 
initiative, ingenuity, and energy to increase these 
possibilities. They have done much and are do- 
ing much, but they have not exhausted their op- 
portunities. Young men have applied far more 
ingenuity in this direction. It may be true that 
the chances are not equal for both sexes, still 
the chances for young women are greater than 
they have as yet discovered. 

If young women will study the field of women's 
work in general they will find many things which 
they can adapt to the uses of earning their way 
through college. In fact, however, many women 
are making their way in school. It should be 
remarked that the self-help committees of the 

[68] 



Working One's Way Through College 

co-educational colleges usually advise women to 
earn their money before taking up their studies. 
If they have a position that pays, it is better 
to hold it, earn and save, and then enter upon 
their educational course. It is almost imperative 
that the young woman shall have at least enough 
money to carry her through her first year at 
school; then she may have gotten her bearings 
well enough to be able to find employment the 
next term. 

Yet it is possible for a woman in a college 
community to find such work from the first as she 
can do without too much interference with studies, 
and win at least part of her expenses. Some 
groups of girls wait on table in the college board- 
ing-houses. Some act as help in homes of pro- 
fessors or others, where they will be protected 
and treated in such manner as not to hurt their 
self-respect. Some are able to do typewriting 
or copying between times. Positions as com- 
panions of invalid ladies can sometimes be pro- 
cured. If one can find market for fancy work, 
for sewing, for candies, such may often be help- 
ful. Some make quite an income by acting as 
agents for magazines, for fancy articles, for 
soaps and such things. 

There is a chance for a woman at school to 

[69] 



Working One's Way Through College 

make arrangements with a home paper for cor- 
respondence, if the paper is fortunate enough to 
be able to pay her and she has skill and judg- 
ment in writing. The girl with a special talent 
or knack or trade can often utilize this while at 
school; a good musician or linguist can often 
find private pupils. Or one may be expert in 
sewing or in cookery or in the making of special 
articles, and make this pay. 

The woman, in order to make her own way 
through college, must understand economy, or 
must learn it. She must set about the problem 
in a business-like manner. She must consider her 
strength, and decide whether or not she is capa- 
ble of carrying the double load of study and 
outside work. It is to be considered in the choice 
of an institution that, while a city affords most 
chances for employment, it is also most expensive ; 
also it must be remembered that a girl cannot go 
about as freely in a city as she might in a small 
town. In the city, generally, her employers in 
a large establishment would be less likely to be 
considerate and sympathetic than those in a col- 
lege town, where the college is the centre of the 
life of the place. 

It is advisable for the young woman to cor- 
respond with the self-help committees of the 

[70] 



Working One's Way Through College 

several institutions, among which she may incline to 
choose, to find their best judgment, and in gen- 
eral to take their advice. If one has friends 
who have attended or are attending these schools, 
she should get their judgment. She may get a 
too optimistic picture from one, and too dark a 
picture from another. 

Fortunately, as things are, nearly all the col- 
leges for women, and the co-educational colleges, 
do afford some chances for young women to sup- 
port themselves in part or in whole. Some pro- 
portion of the women's colleges are managed on 
the basis of giving all the pupils a fixed amount 
of housework at a calculated rate of remunera- 
tion, payable by diminishing the tuition or other 
charges. Many private colleges arrange for the 
self-support of some pupils by assigning them 
certain duties. 

The Employment Bureau of the University of 
Chicago is able to aid a considerable number of 
women to find employment in housework, the 
care of children, as companions, and so on. At 
that institution, sometimes several girls rent a 
flat, do their own work, get their own meals, and 
so reduce expenses. One young woman there 
held a position as church organist. One wrote 
an essay for the Colonial Dames in a prize 

[71] 



Working One's Way Through College 

contest and won $300. One girl waited on table 
during a summer at a resort, and received, in 
addition to wages, thirty dollars in tips. 

Several girls in Chicago worked their way 
through from the high school. They were per- 
sonally introduced to the Dean ; later got service in 
the library, laundry, and School of Education; 
among other duties, they took charge of kinder- 
garten children going to and from school in the 
omnibus. Some there act as clerks. A number 
are employed in the Domestic Science Depart- 
ment; in the cooking school they prepare mate- 
rials ; and so on. There are also positions to look 
after children during certain hours. 

At the University of Wyoming, twenty young 
women in one year received room and board from 
the ladies of Laramie in return for light house- 
hold work. Four young ladies at Ohio Univer- 
sity, Athens, Ohio, formed a self-boarding club, 
and proved that they could have good food at 
one dollar a week per person. 

Concerning the Western College for Women, 
Oxford, Ohio, President John Grant Newman 
states : 

" Young women do help themselves here, though 
very few do all. Expenses may be lessened by office 
work and by extra domestic work. Office work counts 

[72] 



Working One's Way Through College 

$50 for an hour a day throughout the year. Some 

give as much as three hours, and gain $150. Extra 

domestic work is not so well paid, for that is not 
skilled labor." 

For the student women at Cornell, opportu- 
nities are not so plentiful as for young men. But 
a number of women at Cornell earn their board 
and room by working in private families, espe- 
cially those of professors, at such employment as 
waiting on table, housework, or looking after 
children. Others are engaged in sewing and 
mending, shampooing and manicuring for other 
girls, tutoring, copying, selling candies, and so 
on. Student women should address the Secre- 
tary of the Cornell University Young Women's 
Christian Association. 

Oberlin opens opportunities to self-supporting 
young women at that institution. It is true that 
entire self-support for a woman there, as else- 
where, is difficult, but by no means impossible. 
There are always some women in Oberlin College 
who rely entirely on their own efforts, and many 
more who earn part of their expenses on the 
ground, or who are using money which they have 
earned and saved. The authorities state, how- 
ever, that it is not every young woman who de- 
sires an education who should attempt to obtain 

[73] 



Working One's Way Through College 

it by self-support. Those who are in delicate 
health, those who have never earned money for 
themselves, or, if earning, have not learned to 
save, should not try it at Oberlin. Also such as 
could find further education at their home school, 
such as are decidedly inferior in scholarship, 
young women who do not know how to do house- 
work or who dislike it or are ashamed to be known 
as working for money, should not expect to sup- 
port themselves in college. 

Nothing at Oberlin can be depended on but 
housework, unless a young woman understands 
some branch of skilled labor like dressmaking or 
manicuring. There is little difficulty in finding 
housework, although the compensation is small, 
twelve and one-half cents per hour, taking from 
four to five hours of work a day to pay living 
expenses, in a good family. This is too much 
for a young woman to attempt if she is to carry 
full work in school, but she can very well pay 
part of her expenses by housework. A newcomer 
can rarely get other work; in Oberlin waiting 
on table is done by young men; opportunities 
may be found to work for board, but these can- 
not be promised to young women with certainty. 
It is better to work for several years and save 
a considerable sum before entering college. If 

[74] 



Working One's Way Through College 

a young woman can command a fair salary, she 
should hold her place for a series of years and 
go to college with money enough to take her 
course with comfort. 

At De Pauw a few girls are self-supporting. 
At Baker University there are frequent chances 
for young women to assist in housework in re- 
turn for home privileges, but no young woman 
should expect to be able to carry full college work 
and earn her board and room rent; in such 
cases a year longer is usually required to finish 
the course. At Evanston Academy, during 1908- 
1909, five times as many young women could 
have obtained domestic service as desired to ac- 
cept such labor. One girl earned one hundred 
and five dollars in the semester in housework 
and care of a child. Another earned the equiv- 
alent of one hundred and fourteen dollars. A 
third earned one hundred and twenty dollars in 
one of the women's halls. The main reliance 
there of young women needing to earn their way 
is in the lighter domestic service of Evanston 
homes. Such students are not regarded as 
kitchen servants but are treated with consider- 
ation and given the necessary time for class work 
and study. 

At Albion, young women frequently make 

[75] 



Working One's Way Through College 

their way by domestic service. Bryn Mawr pro- 
vides a few positions as assistants in the library 
and as postmistresses. Wells has a limited num- 
ber of annual scholarships, varying from thirty 
to one hundred dollars, for well-prepared pupils 
who need assistance; it has loan scholarships, to 
be repaid without interest ; it has a few prizes. 
It also provides positions as assistants in the 
library or book-store. 

The Woman's College, of Baltimore, has two 
fellowships of five hundred dollars each. Mount 
Holyoke has a Loan Fund, providing not more 
than one hundred and fifty dollars a year, and 
not more than three hundred dollars to any one 
student during the course. It has a few scholar- 
ships which provide for part of the tuition, but 
these are not available till after one year at the 
school. Vassar has a Students' Aid Society; 
certain scholarships are assigned as loans to ap- 
plicants passing without conditions the entrance 
examinations. It has also prizes and honor 
scholarships. 

Wellesley has scholarships for undergraduates 
and scholarships and fellowships for graduates. 
Wellesley Christian Association states in its gen- 
eral report that under the work of its General 
Aid Committee it aims: (1) To procure work 

[76] 



Working One's Way Through College 

for those students who wish it, and workers for 
those who desire to have work done. This has 
included laundry work, sewing, stitching and 
mending of all kinds, reading aloud, copying, 
printing, typewriting, cooking, and cleaning. 
(2) Exchanges. Second-hand furniture and 
books are bought and sold through the furniture 
and book exchanges, being a great convenience 
to the members of the college as well as profitable 
to the students in charge, who receive a com- 
mission for their services. A sewing machine, 
owned by the Association, is in charge of this 
committee and rented by the hour. 

Some years ago two needy girls at Wellesley 
rented a picturesque house near the school, fitted 
it up as an inn, and made it so popular among the 
other girls that they earned enough to educate 
themselves. This is now owned by the college. 

Smith has a Students' Exchange. To make 
the Exchange more efficient, a system of regis- 
tration by card catalogue is in use. Ninety- 
three students registered in 1908-1909, besides 
eighteen members of the incoming freshman 
class. These numbers do not represent all who 
are working their way through college, but it 
is expected that another year every student 
desiring pecuniary assistance will register, in 

[77] 



Working One's Way Through College 

order that the Exchange may be the bureau 
through which all work is given out and to which 
all requests for student labor are sent. 

The Exchange has sought out many kinds of 
work. Students wait on table or wash dishes for 
their board; one has charge of the furniture and 
book exchange; others take care of children, 
wash dishes in the afternoons at the Club-house, 
do typewriting, neostyling, and clerical work, 
clean house, launder shirt-waists, press gowns, 
polish silver, act as official guides, do shampoo- 
ing and massaging, take charge of the reading- 
room in the Students' Building on Sundays, and 
of the cloak-room at dances, make cookies and 
candies, pose at the Burnham School, copy music, 
act as agents for firms who wish a market for 
their merchandise at college, and so on. On the 
sixteenth of December, 1908, a fair was held. 
Thirty-eight students put articles into the fair, 
and they received one hundred and ninety-two 
dollars. The Exchange netted twelve dollars 
from the lost and found articles. 

At such colleges as Smith there are many rich 
girls who provide opportunities for others to do 
many things for them, and for which they are 
able to pay well. Some have developing plates, 
and develop pictures for others. Smith has 

[78] 



Working One's Way Through College 

scholarships, from fifty to one hundred dollars 
each. It has also prizes and six fellowships of 
five hundred dollars each. The Smith Students' 
Aid Society offers loans of varying amounts to 
approved students from the three upper classes. 
Professor Hoadley writes in regard to Swarth- 
more : 

" Some of the girls help in the library and some in 
the post office. Some have their homes in private fam- 
ilies, where they receive their board for services ren- 
dered. Some care for children, and there are three 
who are doing typewriting for college professors, for 
which they get the usual rates." 

At Converse College, Spartanburg, S. C, there 
are two students who conduct a stationery room 
for other pupils ; the college has no employment 
bureau. At Elmira College some act as assist- 
ant librarians and in clerical duties. All juniors 
and seniors who need money register applica- 
tions as tutors; as required, these are employed 
through the office. 

At Vassar, several years ago, one young woman 
made aprons for the pupils of the Art Depart- 
ment who required these in their work; she sold 
a great many. Another made posters and was 
very successful in disposing of them. 

Many ways of earning money have been 

[79] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

devised at various schools for women. One young 
woman in vacation played a piano in a store that 
sold cheap music, and was .well remunerated. 
Some, at school, retail bananas and other fruits. 
Some do a thriving business in preparing and sell- 
ing home-made candies. One girl put on skirt- 
bindings for her fellow pupils ; she had a notice on 
her door, which read, " Rebinding of skirts done 
here." 

One young woman who lived on a farm made 
some money, in view of going to school, in this 
way. She had twenty-five dollars, and with it 
bought five calves, which she kept three months 
and then sold for fifteen dollars each. She then 
bought fifteen more calves. One day she was driv- 
ing on the road when she saw a woman passing with 
a calf in a wagon ; she stopped her and asked what 
she was going to do with it. She learned it was 
for sale, and made an offer which was accepted. 
She said, " Drive on to our place." Thus she was 
always on the lookout for a bargain. In two 
3'ears she had in this way made five hundred dol- 
lars. It is true she had the advantage of not 
having to pay much for keeping her stock, as 
the farm took care of the feed question. She 
was successful also in buying and selling horses. 
She attended a sale, bought a horse on six months' 

[80] 



Working One's Way Through College 

time, and within a year had cleared two hun- 
dred dollars on her bargain. 

Many girls teach or act as clerks, save their 
money, and then go to school. Some teach or 
work and go to school, year about until they get 
their degrees. One girl who lived in the coun- 
try, daily walked two miles to the cars, rode two 
miles to school, and when in the town, where the 
school was located, helped in a family. 

At Beloit, a number of young women help 
themselves by clerking, tutoring, agencies, work- 
ing in dormitories, housework, serving at dinner, 
and service in the library. Rockford Col- 
lege has no employment bureau. The President 
writes : 

" It is scarcely possible for a girl to do good col- 
lege work and at the same time meet her expenses 
through her own efforts. I do not think that, as a 
rule, she has the physical ability to do this. Some 
of our girls can help themselves to the extent of $50 
or $100 during the college year, but that is about all." 

Near Mt. Holyoke is a place called Green 
Pea. Once, on the college blackboard, this an- 
nouncement appeared : " Girls wanted to pick ap- 
ples at Green Pea." The humor of this appealed 
to many of the girls, and they made a lark of the 
apple-picking, besides getting paid for it. This 

[81] 



Working One's Way Through College 

college retains a little of the Domestic Work plan 
on which it was established ; originally this was on 
a larger scale; now fifty minutes daily for each 
girl is assigned to some light domestic work, as 
dusting, for example. The rough work is done by 
employees. Charges are relatively small there, 
and this is partly on account of the domestic work 
that is credited on account. Some girls there earn 
something by agencies for various articles that 
are wanted by the others. They also do some 
typewriting for the officials. They also sell pic- 
tures of Deerfield, the neighboring town. Some 
are tutors and readers in various departments. 
Scholarships are available after the first year. 
This college has a Press Club, under the English 
Department, and many report for Springfield 
and other newspapers. One girl helped in the 
library, did much there, and got through in five 
years. 

One women's college principal states that if 
she were undertaking in youth to get an educa- 
tion she would borrow the money and bank on 
the future to repay it. This of course would 
be wise or unwise under different circumstances. 
The woman who has proved her ability by be- 
coming head of a college might safely do what 
others should not undertake. Then, many can 

[82] 



Working One's Way Through College 

not borrow large sums. Again, it is not always 
wise for a girl to put herself under financial ob- 
ligations to men. All these things have to be 
considered. Where a girl has real ability, and 
has relatives or women friends who have faith in 
her and will lend her money, this may be the 
simplest course. 



[83] 



CHAPTER VII 

EXPERIENCES OF A WOMAN WHO 

EARNED HER EDUCATION; ALSO, 

CONDITIONS IN THE COLLEGE 

OF WHICH SHE IS 

PRESIDENT 

Where there 's a will there 's a way. 

J AM able to cite the inspiring success of one 
-*• well known to me, a distinguished woman, 
who earned her own way from the age of sixteen. 
She is now the President of the Oxford (Ohio) 
College for Women, Jane Sherzer, Ph. D. (Ber- 
lin University). She was born and reared in 
Franklin, Ohio, and attended the public schools 
of that town. When she was graduated at six- 
teen from the High School of Franklin, she be- 
came teacher of a near-by country school. She 
held that position for two years, at an annual 
salary of five hundred dollars. Living with rel- 
atives in the country and in the town, she saved 
the greater part of her salary, and with this 
money in hand, she entered Ann Arbor. 

[84] 



Working One's Way Through College 

After two years there, she was made Principal 
of the High School of her native place, a posi- 
tion she now declares she was at the time unfitted 
for; but interviews with a number of successful 
men who were her pupils indicate that her occu- 
pancy of that Principalship was eminently val- 
uable to them. An uncle of Dr. Sherzer, a 
physician, had extravagant ideas of the endurance 
of the human body, and he gave the young woman 
advice to study daily six hours in addition to her 
preparation for her school work and the discharge 
of her local duties. At the end of two years, she 
was suffering from an attack of nervous prostra- 
tion, which lasted about a year and a half. This 
time of recuperation she spent at her father's 
home. 

On recovery, she returned to Ann Arbor, sup- 
porting herself with savings from her High-School 
salary. On completion of her course at Ann Ar- 
bor, she became a teacher at the Oxford College 
for Women, remaining several years, and mean- 
while taking a trip to Europe. For some years 
thereafter she taught during the college terms and 
annually visited Europe. Having accumulated 
sufficient money for her purposes, she prepared 
to enter the University of Berlin to try for 
the degree of Ph. D., that degree from that 

. [ 85 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

university being one of the most coveted of 
scholastic honors. 

After having braved the many difficulties of 
entrance there, it being almost impossible a few 
years ago for a woman, and, in particular, an 
American woman, to gain admission there as a 
regular competitor for a high degree, she began 
her course. By " working like a slave arid living 
like a machine," taking as good care of health 
of body as of mind, she won her degree in much 
less time than that consumed by the majority of 
male students there. 

Having gained by her own efforts as good an 
education as the world affords, Dr. Sherzer is an 
especially valuable counsellor for other young 
women in regard to their possibilities. Dr. Sher- 
zer states that the young woman who proposes 
to earn her own education should first of all make 
it a business to learn how to take care of her 
health. She maintains that the girl of average 
good health and constitution can make her own 
way if she knows how to do it and obeys the laws 
of her nature. It is not so much the effort that 
harms as lack of wisdom as to exercise and rest. 
Her temporary break-down came from utter ig- 
norance of the laws of nature and from attempt- 
ing the impossible. When she had learned how 

(86] 



Working One's Way Through College 

to care for health, she was able to pass through 
the ordeal at Berlin without injury. At Berlin, 
she divided her periods so that she could walk 
back and forth to the University; she never 
studied long at a stretch, but sandwiched walks 
between study and recitation. 

She believes that it is better to aim to get 
through the school period as early as possible, 
thinking it unadvisable, as a rule, to teach a year 
and then go to school a year. At least she feels 
it best to save enough for two continuous years 
of study; then two years, if necessary, of work- 
ing and saving; then, the final two years. Other- 
wise it is easy to get out of the college spirit and 
lose the advantage of what has been gained. Her 
advice is to start to college as soon as may be pos- 
sible, to attend a college where there are helps or 
opportunities to aid oneself, and to keep on if 
possible to the completion of the course. There 
are advantages in beginning the life-work early. 
Of course, she does not discourage such as find 
her plan impossible ; she indicates what she thinks 
the more desirable way. 

In general, she thinks it is harder for a young 
woman to earn as she goes in a co-educational 
school than in a woman's college. She was not 
personally acquainted with more than two young 

[87] 



Working One's Way Through College 

women at Ann Arbor who were earning their own 
way entirely ; one of these did all the buying and 
ran the household for a sorority. But on the 
other hand it is true that in many co-educational 
colleges, at State Universities, the expenses are 
so low that it is relatively easier to earn sufficient 
beforehand or between times. In general, the 
women at co-educational colleges do either provide 
themselves with funds before entering school or 
they work between years. Some girls at co-edu- 
cational colleges, however, work while at school ; 
at Miami a girl is assistant in the gymnasium. 
Dr. Sherzer says : 

" Most certainly a girl can earn her education. I 
know many who have done so and many others now 
so engaged. I should try to earn while at school, if 
strong. It takes so long to stop a year and then 
study a year. If bright and strong, one should go 
ahead. If one cannot do this, then she should teach 
or do other remunerative work two years, then go 
to school two years. If one has to make a break in 
the course, the best place to do so is between the 
sophomore and junior years." 

At the Oxford College for Women, in 1909- 
1910, there were thirteen girls earning their way 
in whole or in part. Most of these were earning 
their board, room, heat, light, and tuition in all 
the regular branches. One had taught elocution 

[88] 



Working One's Way Through College 

three years, entered the freshman class, and is 
taking care of the library and selling books and 
stationery. She receives three hundred and five dol- 
lars per year, the total of the college expenses. 
She gives but a small part of her time, has carried 
the full course, and now takes extra work. There 
are dozens of candidates for such positions. 

Another girl supervises the music practice, and 
rings the bells every fifty minutes during the day. 
She is employed to go around at these fixed times 
and see that every girl is in her place; the time 
must be exact. Another is acting as the private 
secretary of the President; she is a good stenog- 
rapher and typewriter, and is earning her entire 
expenses. If an inexperienced girl is at this work, 
she gives four and a half hours a day; in the 
case of an experienced one four hours is sufficient ; 
this time is divided up to suit her studies. 

Says Dr. Sherzer: 

" We have in our music class a brilliant girl, who 
teaches beginners for her board, room, etc. We, so 
far as possible, make positions for such as need them. 
One girl sweeps ten small rooms, that have painted 
floors and rugs, takes care of three bath-tubs and one 
sink ; she earns all her expenses. The college is in 
many cases paying double prices, but is glad to do so. 

" We have eight girls who do dining-room work 
and get all their expenses. We pay three times as 

[89] 



Working One's Way Through College 

much as unskilled labor could earn. These girls wait 
on the tables for one hour and a half daily; then give 
one hour in the morning, one and a half after lunch, 
and one hour after dinner. For the five hours' service 
a day they get the equivalent of three hundred and 
five dollars a year. They do not go into the kitchen. 
They set tables, clear tables, clean silver, wash din- 
ing-room dishes and glasses in a butler's pantry ; they 
have to dust and to wait on table. 

' We are helping twenty-eight other girls with 
scholarships. Eleven earned high-school scholarships. 
Seventeen others have obtained these by special favor. 
We give scholarships to daughters of clergymen. We 
offer a scholarship to the highest girl senior each year 
in any first-grade high school; this carries the tui- 
tion." 

As indicating how girls are helped at many 
schools, it may be remarked that scholarships are 
often given to daughters of persons of influence 
as an advertisement. Also, when a girl is a strik- 
ing leader, who can bring other pupils, a school 
is likely to consider her a desirable addition and 
to give her a scholarship. One school helps six- 
teen girls, who are given two-hundred-dollar 
scholarships for four years, by letting the parents 
of picked girls pay only one hundred and five 
dollars a year, and allowing them to pay this by 
the month, if desired. This often suits salaried 
men. These are apt to be daughters of educators. 

[90] 



CHAPTER VIII 

SPECIAL STATEMENTS FROM LEADING 
COLLEGES FOR WOMEN 

I am an advocate of a good general academic edu- 
cation for both a young man and a young woman. 
Give the young men and women a good general foun- 
dation, and then they can choose intelligently for 
themselves. — James M. Taylor, President of Vassar 
College. 

\ S affording several points of view on what 
^*" young women can do to support themselves 
at school, it is well to quote the following personal 
letters sent me by such important colleges for 
women as Wellesley, Wells, Pennsylvania, Lake 
Erie, Elmira, Baltimore, Vassar, Smith, and 
Mount Holyoke. 

From Wellesley the secretary of the President 
writes : 

" I shall try to give you a few facts regarding self- 
helping young women in Wellesley College, and the 
means provided for their support. My belief is that 
at least one-fifth of our students are earning a part 
of their support. The payment for such work is 

[91] 



Working One's Way Through College 

usually applied either to incidental expenses or to 
board. The tuition, $175 a year, remains an item not 
easily reached by any of the gainful occupations open 
to young women in this college. 

" We have both a teacher's registry and a bureau 
for self-helping students in college. The former re- 
fers mainly to positions outside of the college, but 
nevertheless bears a certain share in the relief of self- 
helping students within the college. The latter or- 
ganization is under a committee of the Christian 
Association, and is actively engaged in making known 
to students such opportunities of gainful employment 
as arise or as can be found within the college and its 
environment. 

" I doubt whether the chances of young women stu- 
dents compare favorably with those of young men as 
far as opportunities for work within a college are 
concerned. Perhaps the cases would be more nearly 
equal if the college for women were situated in the 
midst of a large city like New Haven or Cambridge. 
In the case of a college situated like Wellesley, near 
a small village but too remote from a large city to 
afford convenience in employment, most of the work 
that can be carried by women students is of the kind 
that is but poorly paid. Tutoring is rather the best 
as regards remuneration, but that is under pretty 
careful regulation by the faculty, and does not afford 
employment to a very large number within this col- 
lege." 

The Dean of Mount Holyoke writes: 

" There are four opportunities at Mount Holyoke 

I 92 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

for undergraduates to help defray the expenses of 
board and tuition. Two of these openings are in the 
department of Art, one in the Library, and one in the 
department of Chemistry. The students holding 
these positions have one-half of the charge for board 
and tuition remitted. A number of students earn 
small sums to help defray incidental expenses by 
tutoring, by taking care of rooms, by mending, or by 
selling articles in demand among their fellow-stu- 
dents. There are also two or three who receive their 
board in an off-campus house in return for services 
as table waitresses. 

" We have no employment bureau at the college. 
Our domestic work system, which requires a small 
amount of time each day to be given to household 
duties, lessens the opportunities for self-help that are 
found in some other colleges; but on the other hand, 
this arrangement enables us to keep the price of 
board and tuition at a lower figure than is charged in 
a number of places. 

"I do not think the opportunities open to young 
women in this respect compare at all favorably with 
those open to college young men. There are compara- 
tively few occupations that a young woman can carry 
on in connection with her college work, whereas a 
large variety of occupations are always open to young 
men." 

The General Secretary of Smith writes: 

" I would say that there are various aids offered 
to students. First of all, there are scholarships of 
from fifty to one hundred dollars which meritorious 

[93] 



Working One's Way Through College 

students may apply for. Then there is the Students' 
Aid that lends money to the three upper classes, to 
be repaid within three years after graduation, if pos- 
sible. After that time interest is charged. This does 
a splendid work, and the students who borrow are 
very anxious to pay back as soon as possible. 

" Next, there is the Students' Exchange. This is 
organized to get work for the students either from 
other students or from the Faculty and townspeople. 

" Students both earn simply incidental money, and 
also some earn most of their expenses. It is hard 
work, and no student should attempt the latter who 
does not have excellent health and good business abil- 
ity. The opportunities for young women are so dif- 
ferent from those young men have in many respects, 
it would be difficult to compare them." 

The Secretary of Vassar writes : 

" In response to your request, I am pleased to state 
that there is some opportunity for self-help at this 
college. During the first year a student is not given 
much opportunity for outside work, as all of her 
strength and energy are needed for the academic 
work and the adjustment to the college life. There 
is a chance, however, in connection with the mail serv- 
ice, the library, the monitorship in chapel, and work 
in some of the offices. It is only in the junior and 
senior years that students may be approved as private 
tutors, but a strong student may earn a considerable 
sum during the last two years by tutoring. All tutors 
must be approved by the department concerned and 
by the faculty. 

[94] 



Working One's Way Through College 

" We have no employment bureau at present. The 
assigning of the work is in the hands of the Lady 
Principal. No agencies are allowed on the campus, 
and the students may not undertake work away from 
the college; so that I think the opportunities for self- 
help are possibly more limited than they are in many 
of the men's colleges." 

The President of the Woman's College of Bal- 
timore writes : 

" It is not easily possible for any student in our 
institution to earn her way through college. It is 
possible by service of various sorts, such as post- 
mistress, assistant librarian, etc., for needy and 
worthy students to aid themselves. The chances 
which young women students have to help themselves 
by earning money while undergraduates are not so 
great as in the case of young men. This is naturally 
and necessarily so. The problem of college adminis- 
tration as related to men and women is an entirely 
different problem. It would be unfair to generalize 
without knowing all the factors involved in the prob- 
lem. The expense for maintaining a college for 
women is very much greater than the expense for 
maintaining a college for men." 

The President of Elmira College writes: 

" Some of our students make a little money tutor- 
ing or working in the library or distributing mail, or 
ringing the class bell; outside of that we do not en- 
courage young women to do much to aid themselves 
in going through college. We have always found that 

[95] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the doing of the required work thoroughly made it 
almost impossible for a student to take on any other 
obligation. We have no employment bureau. We 
have a fund, the interest of which is used each year 
to aid young women in taking a college course who 
otherwise could not enjoy it. Our observation has 
been that young women are not as capable of taking 
outside responsibilities as young men. Their lack of 
physical strength is a hindrance, and a limited num- 
ber of openings makes it difficult for them to find 
suitable employment." 

The President of Lake Erie College, Painesville, 
Ohio, writes : 

" In reply to your letter I would say that on ac- 
count of our domestic system at Lake Erie College 
there are few opportunities for young women to earn 
their way. Every student here is required to give 
the College some special service, either in domestic 
or clerical line, requiring thirty-five minutes each day. 
This practically means that all our students earn their 
way in part, since the expenses are greatly reduced 
for all by this arrangement. We have special oppor- 
tunities for six students each year to do additional 
work in the office and in the library to an amount 
sufficient for the payment of board and room, two 
hundred dollars per year. We have no employment 
bureau, but the scholarship committee is in touch with 
those who wish to earn small sums by doing special 
service for individuals. 

" In a woman's college of the character of Lake 
Erie it is certainly true that a young woman's 

[96] 



Working One's Way Through College 

opportunities in this respect do not compare favorably 
with those of young men." 

The Secretary of Pennsylvania College for 
Women writes: 

" In reply to your inquiry in regard to ways and 
means by which young women help themselves to a 
college education, we do not find it possible for our 
students to work their way through their college 
course. President Lindsay considers it too great a 
tax on their physical strength, and prefers to give aid 
through scholarships." 

The secretary of the President of Wells Col- 
lege writes: 

" We have no particular information to give you, 
for the reason that the situation rarely arises here. 
Wells College is situated in a small village where 
there is no opportunity for the employment of stu- 
dents. The only way in which we are able to assist 
our students is by giving them certain duties in the 
library, the book-store, or in charge of the laundry 
room, occasionally a little accompanying in the gym- 
nasium, etc., and counting this to the credit of a por- 
tion of the tuition." 



[97] 



CHAPTER IX 

HOW THE COLLEGES HELP NEEDY 
STUDENTS 

The boy who goes to college at a personal sacrifice 
is apt to win a higher place in the world than the one 
who is sent there by an indulgent parent. — Richard 
C. Hughes, Ripon College. 

IN addition to what the students may be able 
to do for themselves, and in addition to what 
committees within the schools may do for them in 
procuring remunerative work, there are several 
further methods by which the colleges give help. 

There are in most colleges, both for men and 
women, a greater or less number of free scholar- 
ships, which furnish all or part of the expenses 
of tuition. These are awarded to such as are 
considered worthy. 

In many institutions there are also loans pro- 
vided, under certain conditions. At Harvard, 
there is besides a Loan Fund, a Loan Furniture 
Association, a Text Book Loan Library, the. 
Harvard Cooperation Society, etc., all intended to 

[98]" 



Working One's Way Through College 

help the student in solving the problem of his ex- 
penses. At Harvard, the dining-room system pro- 
vides board at moderate cost ; arrangements of the 
same sort are found at many other institutions. 

Harvard has many free scholarships. Its Co- 
operative Society is a department store conducted 
for the benefit of the student body. The College 
is able to help about one hundred men yearly from 
the Price Greenleaf Fund, distributed in sums 
from one hundred to two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars a year, to undergraduates. 

At Chicago, there are remissions of tuition for 
a limited number of students who are in need of 
pecuniary aid ; these students are expected to ren- 
der the University some service in return. It has 
also a Students' Fund Society which makes loans 
to students upon recommendation of its own com- 
mittee and a committee of the faculty. 

Oberlin has a number of scholarships ; in a few 
cases the entire income of one is given to a single 
student, but this is usually subdivided. Com- 
monly aid is not given in the first term. There is 
one free scholarship for students preparing for 
the ministry. There are about twenty scholar- 
ships for self-supporting women. Also there are 
Trustee Funds, set aside for remission of part of 
the regular term bills for a limited number of 

[99] 



Working One's Way Through College 

students ; this is considered a loan ; such students 
may be called upon to render services to the col- 
lege as an equivalent. Aid is given in meeting 
expenses of tuition only to such as have been in 
attendance one term and have shown what they 
can do. No assistance is given in money ex- 
cept in the form of a loan, but there may be 
reduction of tuition to the extent of twenty to 
thirty dollars. 

Bowdoin devotes the income of more than $130,- 
000 yearly to free scholarships ; the smallest of 
these amount to forty-five dollars. These are never 
promised to prospective students, so the college 
is under no pecuniary obligations to such as prove 
unworthy during the first semester of the fresh- 
man year. But any one who shows himself of good 
character, and above the average in studies, is sure 
of a scholarship for the first year. 

The Emerson Fund at Beloit provides scholar- 
ships for students preparing for the ministry 
and who need such help. A few scholarships 
are also available for others. The Dodge Fund 
in the same institution is for the purpose of 
aiding young women ; scholarships may be granted 
from this fund. A limited number of needy 
pupils at Beloit receive help varying from ten 
to twenty-five dollars ; this is promised for only 

[100] 



Working One's Way Through College 

one semester, but is continued if good conduct and 
high standard of scholarship in studies are main- 
tained. 

Sons of Presbyterian ministers, and candidates 
for the ministry, receive at Lafayette College 
free tuition in the classical course, and are charged 
but one-half tuition in the technical courses. 
Endowed scholarships provide free tuition in the 
classical course and in the Latin scientific course. 
Aid is also given young men of ability and good 
character who need it, but the amount depends 
on the necessities of the individual; it in no case 
exceeds the tuition in the classical and scientific 
courses or one-half the tuition in the other tech- 
nical courses. 

Ohio Wesleyan grants scholarships to grad- 
uates of high schools of highest grades in their 
classes ; these entitle recipients to free tuition in 
the College of Liberal Arts, but do not release 
them from fees in the laboratory or gymnasium, 
nor from incidental expenses. The college also 
has patrons' scholarships, established by friends, 
entitling to free tuition in the College of Liberal 
Arts and in the preparatory classes. What are 
known as university scholarships were originally 
sold in the interest of an endowment fund, and 
are now held by various persons ; when held by 

[101] 



Working One's Way Through College 

such as do not have children or friends desiring 
to use them, these can often be procured cheap. 

Allegheny College has the Lindley Endowment, 
the interest of which is to aid students dependent 
upon their own efforts ; there is a limited num- 
ber of these. The Ballantyne Scholarship Fund 
income is for college term fees of sons and 
daughters of ministers of the Pittsburg Metho- 
dist Episcopal Conference, and of young men 
from that territory who are studying for the 
ministry. Also it has forty prize scholarships 
of fifty dollars each for honor students in forty 
of the best high schools in the patronizing ter- 
ritory of the college. This school has also Educa- 
tional Society Loans for students who are members 
of the Methodist Church and show promise 
of Christian usefulness; the loans are with- 
out interest and are to be repaid in full within 
five years after graduation. These loans are not 
limited to candidates for the ministry. No aid 
from any source is given to such as use tobacco. 

At Washington and Jefferson, the sons of min- 
isters and of missionaries receive free scholar- 
ships ; also worthy young men aiming to enter 
the ministry receive the same. Possessors of old 
scholarships sold years ago for the endowment 
fund of either Jefferson or Washington college 

[102] 



Working One's Way Through College 

can present these in lieu of fees. Also a part or 
the whole of tuition charges may be remitted in 
cases that satisfy the Committee on Student Aid 
of their need; the remission or reduction is con- 
sidered a loan, for which a signed note is given, 
with obligation to repay by work under the 
supervision of the Committee. 

Professor Hoadley states in regard to Swarth- 
more: 

"As at other colleges, Swarthmore has certain 
funds from which a part of the expenses are paid 
for students who are in need of help to secure an edu- 
cation. In all cases in which aid is furnished an 
attempt is made to hold the students to some form 
of service that can be called equivalent in part 
at least to the aid received. I have a young man 
helping in my Physical Laboratory who receives as 
compensation one-half of his tuition. There are 
other young men doing similar work in the other 
laboratories." 

At Tuskegee, for colored pupils, the tuition is 
free, and pupils are permitted to work out part 
of their board. At Hampton Institute, for In- 
dians and colored students, where tuition is one 
hundred dollars a year, this may be remitted in 
whole or in part, at the discretion of the faculty, 
by the payment from scholarships given by 
benevolent persons or societies of seventy dollars 

[103] 



Working One's Way Through College 

for academic, and thirty dollars for industrial 
instruction. 

Dickinson has a few endowed scholarships. At 
the State Agricultural College of Michigan there 
is no charge for tuition except to residents of 
other States, and then it amounts to only five dol- 
lars a term. 

Northwestern University has a number of free 
scholarships. Three of these, paying full under- 
graduate tuition fees, derive from a gift of three 
thousand dollars by Catherine M. White; recipi- 
ents must hold themselves responsible for limited 
clerical service. Two missionary scholarships 
are for persons intending to enter mission work 
in foreign fields ; these carry free tuition ; pref- 
erence is given to students from foreign lands. 
One Methodist Episcopal scholarship is the gift 
of the First M. E. Church of Evanston, and is 
awarded by officers of that church. The Univer- 
sity Guild Scholarship affords a young woman 
an income equal to the tuition fee in the college; 
the holder is responsible for certain duties in the 
Guild Room. There are also fifty first-year 
scholarships that are awarded annually to select 
members of the incoming class. 

The College of Liberal Arts of Boston Univer- 
sity is able by means of its generous endowments 

[ 104 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

to give much direct aid to students to meet their 
expenses. It has available one hundred and nine 
scholarships, the income of forty thousand dol- 
lars. Most of these are for one hundred dollars 
a year. Some are for either sex; some are ex- 
clusively for women, and some for men. Some are 
for young men preparing for the ministry. It 
awards about one hundred and fifty scholarships 
and stipends each year. This college has also 
at its disposal a small loan fund and a limited 
amount of money provided by the Massachusetts 
Society for the University Education of Women, 
available for young women in the three upper 
classes. 

At Cornell, students who have been in the 
University at least two years, with a good rec- 
ord, may apply to the committee in charge for 
permission to give their notes for tuition fees, 
or for a loan not to exceed one hundred dollars 
in any one year, or in special cases for both. 
Cornell has also State free scholarships that are 
awarded annually by the Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Instruction ; these are equal in number to the 
number of Assembly Districts in the State. They 
carry free tuition for four years. If a student 
holding a scholarship requires leave of absence 
to earn funds for living-expenses, the President 

[105] 



Working One's Way Through College 

may grant this, and allow a period not exceeding 
six years from the commencement thereof for 
completion of his course. 

Opportunity is given students at Armour Insti- 
tute to earn their tuition after having attended one 
year, and then for no longer than six terms. Baker 
University has a small loan fund ; the amount 
per individual can hardly exceed twenty-five or 
fifty dollars a year. In the college for women 
in the same university there are some free 
scholarships. 

Yale has free tuition scholarships in the 
Academical Department only; the amount is 
credited on term bills when due. These are at the 
rate of seventy, one hundred and ten, or one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars a year, according to the 
degree of need and class work. Students intend- 
ing to enter the ministry receive especial addi- 
tional aid. Some prefer help in the form of loans, 
and such is granted, the recipient giving his 
promissory note, payable eight years after date, 
with interest after maturity at six per cent. The 
Andrews Loan Library furnishes needy students 
with many of their text-books, subject to return 
in good condition. 

Earlham College, at Richmond, Indiana, gives 
about forty scholarships a year, worth fifty 

[106] 



Working One's Way Through College 

dollars each. At Denison University a scholarship 
covers the tuition. 

Certain colleges have no tuition fees for res- 
idents of the same States. Others refuse all 
students from other States, and have no fees. 
Some have reduced fees for State residents, and 
larger fees for outsiders. Some have certain free 
departments, and fees for others. Some are free 
for such as intend to enter the ministry. The 
theological schools in general have no fees. Some 
colleges have free tuition for teachers. 

Loyola College, Baltimore, Roman Catholic, 
has free scholarships. Haverford has four senior 
scholarships worth three hundred dollars each. 
It has about fifty others, worth from one hundred 
to four hundred dollars each. Some are open to 
Friends only. 

The University of Idaho has a Loan Fund. So 
have the universities of Michigan, Missouri, and 
Wisconsin. The University of Wyoming is free 
for all. 

Ohio Wesleyan has a loan fund. The Univer- 
sity of Iowa has many free tuitions. Amherst 
distributes annually the income of nearly three 
hundred thousand dollars among students of char- 
acter and attainments, who are in need; the sums 
range from twenty to one hundred and ten 

[107] 



Working One's Way Through College 

dollars a year. Brown has a Loan Fund ; payment 
is in cash or in credit on term bills for services 
rendered. 

These statements do not exhaust the data on 
these points, but rather only suggestively indi- 
cate that a large proportion of the colleges are 
prepared to help such as are in need in some 
form and to some extent. 



[108] 



CHAPTER X 

OTHER AIDS WITHIN THE COLLEGE 

In my twenty years at Bowdoin College, I have 
never known a man of fair ability and willingness 
to work who was obliged to give up his college course 
for lack of funds. — Wm. De Witt Hyde, Bowdoin. 

TN many instances the college Itself provides 
-■■ work and pays for it. Tulane affords a 
certain amount of work in the University print- 
ing shops and workshops. The University of 
Rochester furnishes some employment in the li- 
brary and laboratory. 

Brown University gives employment as moni- 
tors, assistants in the library and laboratory, in 
the choir, and as clerks in the Registrar's office. 
It provides work for two hours a day at a fixed 
rate of compensation. About six thousand dol- 
lars a year is appropriated for service; and em- 
ployment is given to eighty students, who receive 
from twenty to forty dollars a term. 

In Armour, many students are employed as 
assistants in the various departments, and the 

[109] 



Working One's Way Through College 

service varies from janitor work to assisting the 
professors in what may be assigned. 

Four students at Bowdoin are assistants in the 
departments of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and 
Mathematics, each receiving $200. Two as- 
sistants in the departments of Economics and 
History each receive $100. The Clerk of the 
Secretary of the Faculty receives over $100. 
Four monitors receive $15 each; the choir leader, 
$75; the quartette, $25 each; the bell-ringer, 
$75 ; and six proctors, their room rent. Several 
students are employed as secretaries to members 
of the faculty. Ten or twelve students act as 
instructors in the gymnasium at twenty-five cents 
an hour; they earn from ten to one hundred and 
fifty dollars a year. Any faithful worker can 
secure employment in the care of the grounds 
and buildings at fifteen cents per hour; men 
make from ten to two hundred dollars at this 
work. 

At Adelphi, Brooklyn, assistance in the li- 
brary and in the executive offices, and assistance 
in some of the work of the Academy and the 
preparatory department, arc means of earning 
provided for students. The Agricultural and 
Mechanical College of Texas gives work to about 
one hundred students. At Tuskegee, work is 

[no] 



Working One's Way Through College 

provided. Fort Worth University furnishes 
much employment. Alabama Polytechnic Insti- 
tute assigns students to various duties and re- 
munerates them. 

The University of Chicago has a University 
Service. Students who are assigned to such serv- 
ice are employed a limited number of hours as 
clerks or messengers in the various offices of the 
University, and are paid at a rate varying from 
twenty to thirty cents an hour, according to the 
nature of the work. Remissions of tuition to 
the amount of twelve hundred dollars are granted 
to the choir, each person receiving a portion or 
all of his tuition fees, according to his ability. 
Members of the University Band receive help in 
a similar way. Another source of income is wait- 
ing on table in the Men's Commons, the compen- 
sation being furnished in board. 

At Dartmouth many act as monitors in the 
class rooms or the chapel, and assist in the li- 
brary; a number work for the professors. Le- 
land Stanford, Jr., engages many as laboratory 
assistants. Columbia provides a large amount of 
tutoring, as do also Harvard and Yale. 

The University of Cincinnati furnishes, in ad- 
dition to such opportunities as a large city pro- 
vides, a unique arrangement by which theoretical 

[in] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and practical engineering go hand in hand with 
wages. Certain students are assigned to factories 
for alternate weeks on pay ; thus, by a week in 
school and a week in the factory, they earn as 
they go. 

Dean Herman Schneider of the University of 
Cincinnati says : 

" We have what is probably the first practical co- 
operation between a school and a number of manufac- 
turers. The courses which we have are called the 
cooperative courses in engineering, and they are for 
the making of mechanical and electrical engineers. 
The plan contemplates that the young man taking it 
shall work alternate weeks in shops in the city and 
in the University. There are about seventy-five of 
these young men with us now, and in a given week 
about half are in the shops and about half in the 
University. The next week they shift, those at the 
University go to the shops and those at the shops go 
to the University. The young men are paid for their 
shop work on a scale of wages which begins at the 
rate of ten cents an hour and increases at the rate 
of a cent an hour every six months. They are paid 
only for the time in the shop, every alternate week 
during the school year, and every week in the summer 
except the two weeks' vacation. The course is six 
years long, and the total earnings of the student dur- 
ing that time are about two thousand dollars. That 
pays his college expenses or tuition about five times 
over. The regular college course is four years long, 

[112] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and the young man in the cooperative course there- 
fore spends only three years in the University. In 
this college course we have omitted nothing, abridged 
nothing; on the contrary we have added something. 
That is to say, the class of men we are dealing with 
can do more work in three years than others can do 
in four years. In a test examination, ninety per cent 
of the cooperative students passed that examination' 
and sixty-nine per cent of the regulars passed it. 
The cooperative students had attended but half the 
time the regulars had been present." 

In 1910, Professor Schneider received approx- 
imately three thousand applications and in- 
quiries. On account of the limited engineering 
quarters at the University at present, all but 
eighty of these had to be refused. But it is ex- 
pected that the University will be able to add two 
hundred of these cooperative students a year 
hereafter. It is expected that the new engineer- 
ing buildings will soon be completed. Radical 
changes are being made ; the time is to be length- 
ened from eight to eleven months of the year. 
August will be the only vacation month of the 
year for cooperatives, with the addition of enough 
July days to make it six weeks in all; but each 
student will get only three weeks of this, for there 
is to be no vacation from their work in the fac- 
tories. 

[113] 



CHAPTER XI 

PRIZES AND HONOR SCHOLARSHIPS 

Careful investigation made recently by Professor 
Van Dyke of Princeton shows that the honors of 
scholarship in our universities go in a very small de- 
gree to the wealthy students. 

PRIZES and Honor Scholarships have to do 
with earning one's way through college, but 
they fall to relatively few. They cannot be 
counted on. They may be gained or not accord- 
ing to ability and success in competition. The 
aspiring student is safer who proposes to make 
expenses by ordinary remunerative work. Let 
him try for prizes, but let him not count on these 
to pay his bills. 

Nevertheless it is fitting to consider that there 
are in many colleges and universities prizes to 
be won by excellence in general or special studies. 
These are open to all. Those that interest the 
student who is making his way are the ones that 
yield money or its equivalent rather than medals 
of honor. 

[114] 



Working One's Way Through College 

There are also Honor Scholarships ; that is, 
such as are earned by superior class-room work. 
So the student who is fighting his own pecuniary 
battles can in some instances do this to a certain 
extent by excellence in study as well as by mar- 
keting other kinds of labor. 

Some institutions of learning have a great many 
prizes ; others have few ; still others offer none. 

One man at Harvard, who was making his own 
way, won in three years and a half scholarships 
which brought him one thousand dollars. 

Dickinson offers prizes in rhetoric, English 
language, belles lettres, oratory, mathemat- 
ics, declamation, excellence in studies, essay, 
Latin, English Bible, contest oration, civics, all- 
round track athletics, and debate. Such a list 
indicates to some extent also what is the con- 
dition in many other colleges. Some of these 
prizes are in money, from ten to fifty dollars ; 
others are gold medals. It has also Honor 
Scholarships for some who enter with the best 
records at high schools, and others for high 
averages for a year or more at Dickinson. These 
are from fifteen dollars up ; the highest is one 
hundred dollars. 

Tuskegee offers a prize of forty dollars for 
an essay on an assigned subject. For progress 

[115] 



Working One's Way Through College 

in carpentry or wheelwrighting it gives a chest 
of carpenter's tools. It gives ten dollars for the 
best progress in studies, and offers twenty dol- 
lars for the best essay on " Peace," written by 
a member of the senior class. It has also a num- 
ber of prizes, from five dollars up to fifty dol- 
lars, for best averages in studies, for progress in 
any trade, as blacksmithing, etc. 

Bowdoin has many prizes. The Smyth 
Mathematical Prize is for the highest rank in 
mathematics for two years, three hundred dol- 
lars. It offers also prizes for declamation, Eng- 
lish composition, Greek, Latin, Commencement 
prize, public speaking, English, French, the best 
short story, etc., from twenty-five to fifty dol- 
lars. The Noyes Political Economy Prize is the 
income of $1,000. The Class of '75 prize is for 
best work in American history, one hundred and 
twenty-five dollars. 

At Washington and Jefferson there are prizes 
in classics, physics and chemistry, Bible, Old 
English literature, and natural history. The 
highest is one hundred dollars ; several are gold 
medals. 

Allegheny has a few prizes, in oratory and 
biology; these range from thirty-five to fifty dol- 
lars. Its Honor Scholarships are given to such 

[116] 



Working One's Way Through College 

as have the best average in the high schools from 
which they enter. 

Ohio Wesley an gives Honor Scholarships to 
those who have the highest average grades in 
high schools. 

Lafayette offers prizes in mathematics, as- 
tronomy, Chaucer, Early English Test, Bible, 
oratory, debate, civil engineering, Latin, his- 
torical essay, chemical essay, Old English, 
physics, etc., from fifteen to fifty dollars; also 
gold medals. 

Beloit offers prizes in declamation, Greek, ex- 
temporaneous speaking, the best archaeological 
collection presented to the museum, essay on 
American citizenship, essay on the fine arts, Latin, 
oratory, from twenty to fifty dollars. 

Evanston Academy has several small prizes in 
oratory and debate. De Pauw has three small 
prizes in debate. 

The University of Chicago has Tuition Fee 
Prizes and Honor Scholarships. Some Honor 
Scholarships are assigned on entrance for excel- 
lence of work in preparation for college. Twenty 
Honor Scholarships are assigned each June to 
the twenty first-year students in the junior col- 
leges who have the highest records for the past 
three terms. It offers also a number of prizes in 

[117] 



Working One's Way Through College 

contests in public speaking and debate; each suc- 
cessful contestant receives a scholarship, yielding 
the amount of the tuition fees for one quarter. 
Four hundred and eighty dollars is annually 
awarded in scholarships to the winners of the 
University Debates. 

Tufts College, Boston, offers prizes and Honor 
Scholarships. St. Lawrence University, Canton, 
New York, does likewise, as do Ohio Wesleyan, 
Union College, Tulane University, the University 
of Illinois, the State University of Iowa, the 
University of California, the Universities of Mis- 
souri, Wisconsin, Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Mich- 
igan, and Rochester. Haverford offers some 
prizes, but Leland Stanford Jr. has none. 

Cornell has six hundred New York State 
Scholarships that are awarded on the basis of 
competitive examination, granting tuition in any 
college or department of the University; these 
may be competed for only by students from the 
public schools of New York State. (Tuition is 
free to all students in the New York State Col- 
lege of Agriculture and all New York State 
students in the New York State Veterinary 
College.) It has also eighteen University Scholar- 
ships, each with an annual value of two hundred 
dollars for two years ; these are thrown open to 

[118] 



Working One's Way Through College 

competition for all members of the first year 
class. It has also many prizes in money and 
medals, from twenty to one hundred dollars. 

At the College of Liberal Arts of Boston 
University certain scholarships are competitive; 
some are for women alone, but must be competed 
for; the sums are one hundred dollars a year. 

Oberlin has twelve Merit Scholarships ; four of 
these of one hundred dollars each, four of seventy- 
five dollars each, and four of fifty dollars each. 

Northwestern has numerous prizes and Honor 
Scholarships, both for men and women; the 
prizes are one hundred dollars each. 

Harvard has so many prizes and Honor 
Scholarships that they would need a separate 
chapter. Readers who are interested might prof- 
itably write to Cambridge for that University's 
own printed statements. 

Yale likewise has a long list. It annually 
gives about five thousand dollars in the form of 
Special Scholarships to men of character who 
have shown ability as scholars ; candidates for 
these are selected by the faculty, and they should 
not be applied for. It gives about two thousand 
dollars a year, as prizes for excellence in various 
lines of study. 

Bryn Mawr, for women, has eight competitive 

[119] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Entrance Scholarships, four of the value of three 
hundred dollars and four of two hundred dollars 
each. It has also a number of others that carry 
free tuition. 

Columbia offers Honor Scholarships. Cincin- 
nati University Graduate School has prizes. 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has prizes 
and Honor Scholarships. Michigan College of 
Mines offers prizes. 

Johns Hopkins University offers prizes ; while 
Amherst has both prizes and Honor Scholarships ; 
as does New York University. Western Re- 
serve University presents opportunities to win 
prizes. 



[ 120] 



CHAPTER XII 

UNIVERSITY FELLOWSHIPS 

Success in any line of endeavor which is really 
worth pursuing is not won without persevering effort. 

A" FELLOW," in the scholastic sense, is a 
member of a college who is on the founda- 
tion and receives an income from its revenues. A 
Fellowship is the position and emoluments of a 
Fellow. 

The Fellowships to be won in various colleges 
carry with them the emoluments of a course in 
the same or in another university. Some of these 
Fellowships provide the means for study in Euro- 
pean universities. These are of particular in- 
terest to such as aim to carry their education 
far beyond the usual college course and engage, to 
some extent in research. 

In the graduate departments of the universi- 
ties, after passing through a college, the oppor- 
tunities for earning are still better than in the 
college itself. There are far more opportunities 
of tutoring, for example. The student has be- 
come used to caring for himself, has learned ways 

[121] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and means, has made acquaintances, and so on. 

But in the college days, there is opportunity 
to win a Fellowship, which carries through the 
university, or to some other university. Many 
colleges have these high privileges to be won. 

In the Graduate School at Yale there are five 
Fellowships yielding four hundred dollars each, 
and twenty scholarships, yielding one hundred 
dollars each, all of which are open to graduates 
of all colleges. Sixteen other Fellowships are 
open only to graduates of the Academical De- 
partment of Yale. 

At Harvard, there are in the Graduate School 
of Arts and Sciences twenty-six Fellowships with 
annual incomes from four hundred and fifty dol- 
lars to one thousand, one hundred and fifty 
dollars each; about thirty Austin Teaching Fel- 
lowships of five hundred dollars each, in connec- 
tion with which a certain amount of instruction 
is required; from two to five John Harvard Fel- 
lowships without stipend; ninety-two endowed 
scholarships of from one hundred and fifty to 
four hundred dollars each; and the scholarships 
of the Harvard Clubs of Chicago, Louisiana, and 
San Francisco, of from two hundred and fifty to 
four hundred dollars each, which are assigned 
under the direction of these clubs. 

[ 122 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Twelve or fifteen of the Fellowships are usually 
assigned to advanced students of high promise 
who wish to extend their studies in Europe. 
There are also a number of teaching appoint- 
ments for qualified students in the Graduate 
School of Arts and Sciences and in the other 
graduate and professional schools of the Univer- 
sity. 

Bryn Mawr women have a number of valuable 
Fellowships. Several of these are European 
Travelling Fellowships, of the value of five hun- 
dred dollars, awarded to members of the grad- 
uating class for scholarship, or students in the 
first year of graduate work, for excellence; the 
Research Fellowship in German and Teutonic 
Philology, value seven hundred dollars, for ex- 
penses of study and residence for a year at some 
German University; twelve resident Fellowships, 
five hundred and twenty-five dollars each; eight- 
een Graduate Scholarships, two hundred dollars 
each, for candidates next in merit to successful 
candidates for Fellowships ; ten Graduate Schol- 
arships, four hundred and five dollars each, for 
English, Scotch, or Irish women and German 
women. These are open to competition. 

Ohio State has some Graduate Fellowships for 
persons who are candidates for the Master's 

[ 123 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

degree ; these are given for two years ; and it is 
expected that the candidate will give about half 
his time to graduate study, and about half to such 
departmental service as the professor may require. 

Chicago bestows annually Fellowships to the 
value of twenty-one thousand, five hundred dol- 
lars in the Graduate Schools, and two thousand, 
seven hundred dollars in the Divinity School. 
Fellowships range from one hundred and twenty 
dollars (covering tuition), to five hundred and 
twenty dollars (four hundred dollars besides 
tuition). The University asks of its Fellows a 
modicum of service. Also Honor Scholarships in 
the Graduate Schools and in the Senior Colleges, 
are assigned on recommendation of departments. 

Johns Hopkins has three Johnston Scholar- 
ships, the stipend of each being the income of 
thirty thousand dollars ; these are offered to young 
men who have evidenced power of independent 
research. Their Fellowships are worth five hun- 
dred dollars each. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 
the Michigan College of Mines both have Fellow- 
ships. Boston University has several that are 
open to graduates of the College of Liberal Arts. 
Oberlin Graduate Scholarships provide for free 
term bills. 

[ 124 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Among others that offer Fellowships are 
Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Michigan, Missouri, 
and Cincinnati. Indiana State University has 
" Assistantships," similar to the Fellowships of 
other schools ; there are available in some depart- 
ments, and pay from one hundred and fifty to three 
hundred dollars a year. 

Northwestern University Fellowships, of three 
hundred dollars each, are open both to men and 
women; also the Woman's Club Fellowship of 
three hundred dollars for research in Household 
Economics ; also one of five hundred dollars for 
special studies in theology at home or abroad. 

Beloit has a Fellowship for graduate study in 
the University of Wisconsin, worth two hundred 
and twenty-five dollars annually; the incumbent 
is required to devote part of his time to assistance 
in the work of some department. 



[ 125 ] 



CHAPTER XIII 

SELF-SUPPORT AND SOCIAL POSITION 

I wish my father had made me earn my own way. 
I would have gotten more out of my course. — A Re- 
cent Yale Graduate. 

XT EVER before has the self-helping scholar 
■*■ ^ been so free from social injury on this ac- 
count, or gained so much respect and credit by 
these efforts. The whole spirit of the colleges 
has changed in this matter. Once it was a social 
ban ; to-day it is a distinction. Save perhaps in 
the eyes of a very few youths of snobbish disposi- 
tion, self-supporting students do not suffer any 
loss of social standing in school or out of it. 

As indicating the point of view of those who 
are supported by their parents toward those who 
work their way, we may cite the case of a mem- 
ber of the Yale class of 1908, who was one of 
the superior scholars and a noted athlete. He 
declared that he regretted that his father paid 
his way for him, as he now realized it would have 
strengthened his self-reliance if he had earned 

[126] 



Working One's Way Through College 

his own way. He believes the self-helping men 
whom he knew gained something he missed. 

This change of attitude toward the self-helpers 
is one of the most notable facts of present-day col- 
lege life. Possibly from the beginnings of col- 
leges in America, these institutions, or many of 
them, owned farms, on which certain of the stu- 
dents worked for tuition or board or for both. 
These " poor " youths were in a category by 
themselves and were " looked down on " by 
those whose pockets were well-lined by their 
fathers. A line of social difference was drawn 
between the farming pupils and those sup- 
ported by their parents. All this is practically 
done away with. Self-support now closes no 
doors of fraternities, athletics, or respect. This 
surely is a healthy, normal condition in a re- 
public. 

The Yale Bureau explicitly claims that " the 
student who is working his way does not lose so- 
cial standing therefore. A student who has to 
earn his living, and, in spite of that handicap, 
attains high rank of any sort, is especially re- 
garded and applauded." He is at a disadvantage 
only so far as he has less time to give to athletic, 
social, and literary activities. 

Yale University " welcomes students of scanty 

[ 127] 



Working One's Way Through College 

means as a most desirable element in the univer- 
sity community. They are earnest and unspoiled, 
get what they come for, and carry off more than 
their share of honors. They rank high out of 
all proportion." 

At Oberlin, " a truly democratic spirit pre- 
vails. The young men who are working their 
way are respected. Rich and poor alike are 
judged by tests of ability and character. Many 
positions of honor are held each year by self- 
supporting students." 

At De Pauw, the question of self-support is 
considered one of character and attitude. Many 
of the most popular students are self-support- 
ing boys. The working students are always well 
represented in the student contests, and usually 
capture the prizes. 

At Evanston Academy of the Northwestern 
University, the main reliance of young women 
needing to earn their way is in the lighter domes- 
tic service of Evanston homes ; such students 
are not regarded as kitchen servants, but are 
treated with consideration and given the neces- 
sary time for class work and study. The Acad- 
emy knows no distinctions of color, wealth, or 
occupation. Self-supporting students are re- 
garded by their associates in the school just as 

[ 128 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

if they did not need to work for a living. The 
whole atmosphere is democratic. 

Boston University College of Liberal Arts 
states that three-fourths of the men present in 
a gathering at that University not long ago, who 
were talking of the question why each one had 
come to college, were either wholly or partially 
earning their way. " The College of Liberal 
Arts thinks only the more of a student if he is 
making his own way. A man with little money 
or leisure is not for that reason out of the un- 
dergraduates' social life ; nor out of their va- 
rious enterprises. Here a student counts for 
what he is." 

Bowdoin says decidedly that the student who is 
working his way does not lose social standing 
there. Bowdoin College is thoroughly democratic. 
Every man is taken at once for what he is worth 
as a man. Every one of the eight fraternities has 
a number of men who are obliged to do whatever 
work they can find in order to remain in college. 
Every social distinction is wide open to the man 
who deserves distinction, regardless of his family 
or funds. The social, musical, debating, literary, 
and athletic clubs always have self-supporting 
students among their leading members, and there 
has never been the least suspicion of unfairness 

[ 129 ] . 



Working Ones Way Through College 

toward such men. In a college where two-thirds 
of the students are earning some part of their 
expenses, the man who works hard and honestly 
is respected. 

The fact that Harvard University has been 
called a " rich man's college " was scored by Pres- 
ident Lowell in his recent address. 

" Harvard is not run for the fast man in col- 
lege," said President Lowell. " I speak with 
authority when I say this, for I know the leaders 
in the various classes in the College and University. 
They are not dissipated. It is well known that 
Harvard is full of poor men, and the students have 
abolished anything like a breach between the rich 
and poor." 



[ ISO] 



CHAPTER XIV 

CAN ONE KEEP UP HEALTH AND 
SCHOLARSHIP? 

I recall only one instance, out of many attempts, 
in which the student thus supporting himself was 
seriously weakened. Undoubtedly this is a danger 
which should be kept in mind, though a rugged, 
hearty young fellow, especially if he comes from the 
country, can endure a great deal. — Flavel S. Lu- 
ther, Trinity College. 

REMEMBER, any one can break down in this 
undertaking, if he will. It is not hard to 
do. Simply ignore all laws of nature ; go on 
the principle that you are made of iron; for- 
get that lungs are made for pure air, muscles for 
exercise, that the stomach has its rights, and that 
sleep has some claims on you ; and you will be ready 
for a hospital in due time. 

No matter how ambitious you are, how fascinat- 
ing books are, how much you need money and 
think you must earn as you go, it will not pay to 
get an education and be a wreck in body. You 
have to decide to take reasonable care of health, 

[ 131 ] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

find out how to do it, then live accordingly, or the 
whole programme would better be given up. 

But it is possible to get education by work and 
still keep health. There are countless thousands 
of busy people who are well and strong. There 
are men and women who are carrying heavier loads 
than you will have to carry in working out your 
way to education, who still keep well. The stage, 
for instance, is known to make heavy demands on 
health ; hard work, late hours, travel, anxiety, 
ambition, take toll of the actor's strength. Yet 
one of the most noted actresses to-day, now above 
fifty, keeps the beauty for which she is famous, 
and leads a busy life, through knowing how to 
care for herself. Among other things, she walks 
five miles a day; refuses to worry; and forgets 
disagreeable facts. 

Northwestern University replies : 

" No specific reply can be made to this inquiry. It 
depends on the individual. Some men allow it to keep 
them out of many of the helpful interests of college 
life and to prevent adequate study. Others undertake 
so much that they are forced to overwork themselves, 
and in some cases have ruined their health. Either 
of these results is due to a serious and unnecessary 
mistake. One must learn to economize his time and 
his energy and not to undertake more than his 
strength and ability will permit him to do with a 

[ 132 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

reasonable degree of efficiency. There is a proper 
balance, and each student must find it for himself. 
Many of the most popular men in college, of the class 
and society officers, of the best students, of the leaders 
in athletics and in oratory and debate, are men who 
spend a good deal of their time and energy in ' work- 
ing their way through college.' ' 

Chicago says: 

" Few students are equal to the task of carrying on 
university work successfully, and at the same time 
earning sufficient money to meet all their expenses." 

De Pauw says: 

" In student contests, such as debates and orator- 
icals, the working students are always well repre- 
sented, and usually capture the prizes." 

Columbia says : 

' While the Committee hesitates to advise students 
in Engineering, in Medicine, and in Architecture to 
undertake outside Work during the academic year, 
because the demands of these courses are so exacting 
and inflexible in lectures and laboratory as to make 
additional responsibilities in most cases an undue 
burden, it is nevertheless true that a number of stu- 
dents do each year work their way through. 

" In regard to the question repeatedly asked 
whether the scholarship of a student who is engaged 
in outside employment suffers from the extra respon- 
sibility, I desire to submit the results of two investi- 
gations: The first was made by Mr. Reuben A. 

[ 133 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Movers, a former secretary of the Committee, and lias 
to do with the standing of college students. I quote 
his words verbatim : ' An investigation was made of 
the records of all the students in Columbia College 
who had applied to the Committee for work during 
the academic year — ninety-two in number — and the 
standing of these students was compared with that 
of an equal number of other college students selected 
at random. The result showed that the general aver- 
age standing of the Employment Committee students 
is somewhat higher than that of the other students. 
We concluded that this is due more to their earnest- 
ness of purpose than to superior ability. Conversa- 
tion with the men themselves would seem to bear out 
this conclusion, for they state that the outside em- 
ployment forces them to more intense application in 
the preparation for their daily academic tasks. In 
other words, the higher marks may represent harder 
intellectual work, not necessarily stronger intellectu- 
ality.' 

" The second investigation I made myself with a 
view to finding out how outside work affects law 
students. An examination of the records of the stu- 
dents in the first-year class, which is perhaps the 
hardest worked of the three of the Law School, 
showed that the average of workers and non-workers 
is about the same. I am informed that in one of our 
best known law schools, students are forbidden to 
undertake outside employment, on the ground that 
they cannot assume the double duty and do justice to 
their studies. If the results of my investigation show 
anything at all, it is that such a system is hardly 

[ 131 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

justifiable, and rather than serving any good end, if 
pursued closely in every law school, would tend to 
keep some of the most promising men out of the legal 
profession." 

Yale utters the warning to the student who sup- 
ports himself entirely not to let his work inter- 
fere too much with his college duties : 

" Here is a serious danger. A man's whole time, 
except that due to healthful diversion, may be profit- 
ably occupied with his lessons and the literary activi- 
ties of college life. The needy student must use the 
time of diversion in gaining his living, and unless he 
is very fortunate will frequently be tempted, in his 
work, to encroach upon the time due his studies. Of- 
ten also, the uncertainty as to whether and how he 
can meet the obligations he has assumed in order to 
live, will create an anxiety and agitation of mind 
which unfit him for doing good work. Before he 
knows it, as time rapidly passes, the opportunities 
of culture and discipline which the curriculum offers 
will have gone unimproved and be lost. What shall 
it profit a man to have gone through college, if, in 
getting through, he has missed the benefits for which 
he came? " 

Yale also warns against the dangers to health: 

1 The student who earns his own living must guard 
against undermining his health. The life is a strenu- 
ous one. He needs all his strength for his college 
duties, but must use a large part of it in supplying 
his physical wants, and so burns the candle at both 

[135] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

ends. Fortunately, change of work is often rest and 
recreation. But the student who is not robust, in 
attempting to do double duty at one time, runs the 
risk of nervous breakdown, and must take every pre- 
caution, or he will be forced to abandon his under- 
taking. In fitting himself for life intellectually, no 
man can afford to seriously impair himself phys- 
ically." 

Bowdoin treats the same themes at length: 

" Must the self-supporting student fall below in 
scholarship? Undoubtedly the man who must spend 
a considerable part of his time in working his way 
cannot attain as high rank in his studies as he might 
otherwise attain. On the other hand, his work may 
be a necessary change from his study, so that not all 
of the time spent in outside work is taken from the 
time for study. Furthermore many self-supporting 
students actually stand high in scholarship; they are 
not the ones who have trouble with the college office. 

" Of the twenty-two men selected on the basis of 
scholarship for provisional commencement appoint- 
ments in 1907, eleven had earned over half their ex- 
penses, and every one of the twenty-two had paid 
part of his expenses by his own labor. Of the ten 
men in the class of 1907 standing highest in scholar- 
ship, more than half of them had earned more than 
half of their necessary college expenses. 

1 The college does everything in its power to assist 
worthy men in earning their way through college, with 
one exception; under no circumstances will the stand- 
ards of scholarship be lowered. The man who is 

[136] 



Working One's Way Through College 

working his way, and every other man, must meet 
the uniform requirements for each course and for 
graduation. If he is obliged to remain out of college 
for a considerable part of the year to teach school 
or otherwise to earn his expenses, the tests of his 
scholarship will be no less exacting. The College will 
aid no man in attaining a degree by cheapening that 
degree." 

Bowdoin also says in regard to health : 

" Is the man who works his way in danger of in- 
juring his health? Although it is true that the stu- 
dent who has too much money is in greater danger 
of undermining his health than the student who is 
working his way, still there is danger that the man 
who has to earn will overwork. A change of work, 
however, is recreation. With the advice of the col- 
lege physician, always available and always free, and 
with regular outdoor exercise, a student of fair abil- 
ity who starts with fair health need not injure him- 
self physically in working his way. He must guard 
against the danger, heed the warnings of nature, and 
seek the advice of the Faculty and other friends be- 
fore an actual breakdown." 

Bowdoin also raises the point, " Is the self- 
supporting student in danger of missing the best 
of college life? The student who supports him- 
self must guard against the temptation to spend 
too much time and energy in earning his expenses. 
Better remain out an entire year while saving 

[1*7] 



Working One's Way Through College 

money than to miss the best that college offers." 
Dean Schneider's official announcement in re- 
gard to the cooperative factory and university 
work in the Cincinnati University engineering de- 
partments is : " One of the striking things proved 
each year is that the cooperative students are more 
vigorous, mentally and physically, at the end of 
the session than they are in September. This is 
to be accounted for partly by the alternation of 
work and study, and partly by the system of selec- 
tion." It should be noted that the average en- 
trance age in this department is between twenty 
and twenty-one. 



[138] 



CHAPTER XV 

DISTINGUISHED PERSONS WHO HAVE 
EARNED THEIR OWN EDUCATION 

I am sorry that I did not earn my way through col- 
lege; but if you were here at Armour with these five 
hundred boys, you would know that there is nothing 
more educative of self-respect, protective to the high- 
est morality, and preparatory in the most efficient 
manner for the truest success, than the manly grap- 
pling with the problem that presents itself when a 
boy has to earn his way through school. — Personal 
letter from President Frank W. Gunsaulus, of Ar- 
mour Institute. 

TV/TR. W. J. SPILLMAN, of the United States 
■!."-■■ Department of Agriculture, has gained na- 
tional reputation as an expert in his specialty. 
He achieved education by his own efforts, and has 
sent me the following letter: 

" I wish to assure you that I am in sympathy with 
any effort to be helpful to young people who are try- 
ing to earn their way through a college course. I 
had that experience, and I know that it is no simple 
matter: It calls for grit more than anything else. 
One must be able to stand discouragement of all kinds, 

[ 139] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and must be willing and able to work hard. I have 
now had a good many years' experience in training 
young men, and this experience has led me to believe 
that the young fellow who has the grit to work his 
way through college has the most essential character- 
istic for success in life. Of course, there are other 
things necessary to success. A man must be loyal to 
those with whom he works and for whom he works, 
and he must use at least a fair degree of intelligence 
in mapping out his work, in order that the results he 
accomplishes may be of some value. 

' The conditions in various institutions are so dif- 
ferent, and the characteristics of individuals differ so 
widely, that I do not believe it would be possible to 
lay down any particular rules to guide a young man 
or woman in a battle for an education. Generally 
speaking, most of the work available for such persons 
is rather of a menial kind, and this is poorly paid 
because so many people can do it. The higher the 
grade of work one is capable of doing the better the 
pay and the less the time that is necessary to spend 
at it in order to get the means for paying expenses 
in school. 

" A young man, Dy becoming an expert, say, in the 
manipulation of harvesting machinery, can frequently 
during the summer months earn enough as a binder 
expert to pay his way through school during the win- 
ter. One can also teach school during the interim 
between terms. It is well to do something during the 
school term which calls for considerable muscular ef- 
fort in order that the student may have sufficient 
physical exercise to maintain health. I wish I knew 

[ 140 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

how to tell young people just what to do in order to 
get an education without money, but people's capaci- 
ties differ so much, and the opportunities in various 
localities are so different, that this is difficult." 

Professor William Hittell Shcrzcr, professor 
of Natural Sciences in Michigan State Normal 
College, Ypsilanti, Michigan, since 1892, is a fine 
instance of successful efforts in gaining college 
education by application of. one's own energies. 
He received B. S. at the University of Michigan 
in 1889, and M. S. in 1890, and Ph. D. in 1901. 
He was Principal of Saginaw (West Side) High 
School, 1886-89; instructor in geology, University 
of Michigan, 1891-92 ; and has occupied his pres- 
ent position at Ypsilanti since 1892. He has filled 
summer engagements at the Natural Science 
Camp, Canandaigua Lake, at Chautauqua, New 
York; was assistant upon the Michigan State 
Geological Survey, 1896-1909. He spent 1900-01 
in the University of Berlin. He was in charge 
of the Smithsonian Glacial Expedition to the 
Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Selkirks 
in the Summers of 1904 and 1905, respective- 
ly. He has written various geological reports. 
He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of 
America. 

Professor Sherzer earned his own education 

[141] 



Working One's Way Through College 

from the time he left the high school in his na- 
tive town. He writes me: 

" In getting myself through college I did not ' earn 
my way ' as usually understood ; that is, I did not 
earn my way as I went, as so many are now doing. 
I did, however, pay for my own college education by 
teaching school in advance, thus earning enough for 
about half my course, and then borrowing the balance. 
It would be a great mistake to stop to earn it all in 
advance, as one's earning capacity is greatly in- 
creased by going to college for even a limited period, 
and opportunities for securing profitable employment 
are more numerous. 

" My advice to young men in general is to earn 
enough for the first two years, to show that they can, 
to secure sufficient maturity of mind to know what 
they want in the way of education, and to appreciate 
it when they get it, and to develop sufficient stability 
of character to withstand the temptations that to-day 
beset the path of the college student. After a partial 
college course, if he can insure his life and use the 
policy as collateral security for a loan from a friend 
I should advise his so doing. 

" If a young man, however, has already let several 
years slip by since high-school graduation and feels 
strongly the need of college education, I would advise 
him to pick out his college, earn a year's tuition for 
that institution, lay aside the car-fare necessary to 
get there, put twenty-five dollars in his pocket for 
books and a few meals at first, and start out. With 
grit and determination he will get along anywhere. 

[ 142 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

" We have a great many students in the Michigan 
State Normal College who are now engaged in earn- 
ing their way, ' waiting table,' doing house work, car- 
ing for furnaces, horses, home grounds, clerical work, 
mending, typewriting, etc. At Ann Arbor, eight miles 
from us, there are many more." 

Senator Bailey, of Texas, has stated his ex- 
perience : 

" I was born in Copiah County, Mississippi. My 
first money was earned by carrying green bricks from 
the moulders to the drying-yard. I owed five dollars, 
and that is the way I paid the debt. I also pulled 
fodder, stripping the dry, sharp blades and husks 
from dead stalks of corn. No work is harder for a 
boy, unless it is ' bearing off ' green bricks in a brick- 
yard. . 

" I earned some money and borrowed some more 
and entered the University of Mississippi. I had a 
bachelor uncle, an Irishman. When he heard what I 
had done he sent me funds with which to pay my debt 
and my expenses at the university. He also made it 
possible for me to take law at Cumberland College, 
in Tennessee." 

A name familiar to all the business world, and 
to hosts of other people, is that of John H. Con- 
verse, for many years, and until his recent death, 
President of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 
whose engines are in use all over the world. Mr. 
Converse made his own way through college. He 
was born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1840. His 

[ 143 ] . 



Working Ones Way Through College 

father was a Congrcgationalist minister, and while 
the youth grew up in an atmosphere of culture 
and among books, the father was not able to send 
him to college. But the lad started out for him- 
self to get an education. He turned his hand to 
everything by which he could gain a dollar hon- 
estly, saved what he could, and fought his way 
through to graduation. After that, he was in 
turn a clerk, a reporter, and a dozen other things, 
until he found his proper sphere in the railway 
business. It was by his foresight, energy, and 
leadership that the company of which he later be- 
came the head pushed its products into all mar- 
kets and became known throughout the world. 
Mr. Converse became also one of the foremost 
leaders in this country in philanthropic and re- 
ligious work, and was honored, loved, and trusted 
by all who knew him and by many thousands of 
others who had never seen his face but were aware 
of his character and his noble spirit. 

There died but recently in Cincinnati another 
of the strong and successful men who had fought 
their own battle for education. This was Lemuel 
T. Atwood, who for some years had been the finan- 
cial head of a great and prosperous newspaper 
association. He was born in Abington, Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1852. When he was still a small 

[ 144 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

boy his parents removed to Kentucky, and later 
to Ohio. His parents died, and he lived with his 
grandmother for some years, earning his own liv- 
ing and forming habits of industry. He worked 
as clerk in various stores, and saved as he could. 
Then he started out to get an education, choosing 
the University of Michigan. There, after a suc- 
cessful battle for means, he was graduated in 1876. 
He studied law, married, and began to practise 
in Dayton, Kentucky. Progress was slow, and he 
supplemented his income from law practice by 
supplying news from the Kentucky side to one of 
the Cincinnati newspapers. Then he applied for 
a regular position on the paper for which he had 
been writing. He did not make a favorable im- 
pression at first, and it was only after repeated ap- 
plications that the young man was given a chance. 
At first he was entrusted only with unimportant 
work. But his opportunity came at the time of 
a great riot and a small-pox epidemic. His work 
then showed such care, industry, and courage of 
a high order that he attracted the attention of 
the man at the head of the league of newspapers. 
He rose rapidly from that time on. He became 
editorial superintendent of half a dozen news- 
papers by untiring efforts and profound devotion 
to duty. 

[ 145 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

He stamped himself indelibly upon the memories 
of those with whom he was associated. His reti- 
cence until a decision was reached, the iron de- 
termination with which the decision was carried 
out, and his unassuming manner, won for him the 
nickname of " General Grant." He felt that the 
power placed in his hands was a sacred trust, and 
strove ever and successfully to render equity, un- 
swayed by prejudice or predilection; and an ap- 
peal to Mr. Atwood was considered to be an 
appeal to exact, even-handed justice. 

He became the financier of the league of news- 
papers and ended connection with former editorial 
duties. Heavy responsibilities were laid on him. 
He always acted so justly and with such pure mo- 
tives that his very name came to stand for integ- 
rity, uprightness, and a high standard of honor. 
He was a man of wonderful will-power. He was 
also a lover of the best in literature, and carried 
with him when travelling one or more of the best 
of books. He was interested in all reforms that 
had for their motive the making of this world into 
a better place to live in, and the easing of the 
burdens of those who were heavy laden. He was 
a deeply religious man, who saw in the visible 
universe the mantle of God, and believed that 
those who live worthily here will find life on a 

[ 146 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

higher plane when the flesh fails. His life was an 
inspiration for those who are tempted to feel that 
they have no chance because they lack a showy 
manner and influential friends. 

He was a good example of the stuff of which 
many a self-supporting student has been, and is, 
made. 

As an instance of marked success following im- 
mediately upon graduation, in 1910, of a young 
man who is at the beginning of what promises to 
be a striking career, we cite the following: The 
graduation of George Seybold, a native of Mans- 
field, Ohio, from Yale College, and his immediate 
acceptance of a responsible position with the Bell 
Telephone Company, which was tendered him be- 
fore graduation, demonstrates the truth of the 
adage that where there is a will there is a way. 
Starting in 1906, practically penniless but with 
an almost unlimited stock of ambition and energy, 
he successfully surmounted all difficulties, both 
as to money and preliminary educational require- 
ments, and finished his college course in high 
standing. 

When a committee from the Bell Telephone 
Company visited New Haven early in 1910, seek- 
ing a college man for one of the high-salaried posi- 
tions in that company, Seybold was one of the 

[147] 



Working One's Way Through College 

three recommended by the faculty out of a class 
of one hundred whose training had been such as 
to make them eligible for consideration. The 
qualifications of the three were carefully consid- 
ered by the committee, with a view to determining 
which was best equipped for big work, and Sey- 
bold was found to measure up to all requirements. 
As a result, he went to New York immediately 
after graduation and started to work for the big 
corporation. 

When Seybold, then a boy in high school in 
Mansfield, announced that he intended working 
his way through Yale, and that he intended en- 
tering that University without completing his high 
school course, the task was regarded by his friends 
as being impossible of accomplishment. " You '11 
see," remarked young Seybold, and he set off for 
New Haven. 

The first difficulty he encountered was in the 
matter of requirements for admission, his study of 
languages and some other branches not having 
been such as to qualify him for admission. " All 
that I ask is a chance to take the entrance ex- 
aminations," said the young man in pleading his 
case before a board of the faculty. By a vote 
of four to three this board decided to admit Sey- 
bold to take the examinations ; it was agreed that 

[148] 



Working One's Way Through College 

if he could pass and could make a good record 
during his first month's work, he would be regu- 
larly entered. He passed rigid examinations, and 
at the end of the month was told he could con- 
tinue his studies. 

From the very start he faced the necessity of 
earning his board and sufficient money to pay for 
books, tuition, and other expenses. In payment 
for board he waited on table at a boarding-house, 
and also found time mornings and evenings to 
care for lawns and walks. He also was given 
some work by one of the professors, who man- 
ifested a lively interest in the ambitious boy who 
was making such a strenuous effort to gain an 
education. 

The work of his first year at Yale was such as 
to win him a scholarship for his second year, thus 
solving the question of tuition. Shortly after- 
wards he obtained a position in the university 
library, and although this took up a couple of 
hours of his time each day, he seemed to have no 
trouble in keeping well to the front in his studies. 
As a boy he had shown an aptitude for music, 
and his skill in handling the violin soon won rec- 
ognition at Yale and eventually proved a help 
to him pecuniarily. A place was soon found for 
him in the Yale Orchestra, and also in a string 

[ 149] 



Working One's Way Through College 

quartette, in which he earned considerable money 
at concerts. 

So he fought his way, and then opportunity 
knocked at his door. 

The Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, successor 
of Henry Ward Beecher in Plymouth Church, 
Brooklyn, writes : 

" I do not belong to the ' heroic class/ but in a way 
I did work my way through college. The older mem- 
bers of my family went through Iowa College and 
Grinnell, but when it came my turn, things were not 
going well with my father. At seventeen I left home 
to make my own way in the world. However, I did 
not have to struggle as many men do. I generally 
made enough money during the three months' summer 
vacation to provide for all my needs during the year 
in college. In fact, in one year I made over four 
hundred dollars in three months, between my sopho- 
more and junior years." 

Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell 
University, lived on his father's farm on Prince 
Edward Island until he was twelve years old. 
He paid his own way through Arcadia College, 
Nova Scotia, and afterwards at the University 
of London, England. Then he studied in Edin- 
burgh and Paris, becoming a doctor of philoso- 
phy in 1878, when he was twenty-four years old. 
He went to Cornell when he was thirty-two. 

[150] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The Rev. William Sunday, known as " Billy " 
Sunday, the noted evangelist and ex-ball-player, 
worked his way through a course at Northwestern 
University. 

Sam Walter Foss, whose poems expressing the 
simple feelings of life have gained a vast popular- 
ity, had to make his own way to education. Born 
on a farm in New Hampshire in 1858, he spent 
most of his time until he was fourteen at home. 
During the late spring and summer he worked 
for his father; during the fall and winter he 
went to the district school. When he was four- 
teen the family moved to Portsmouth, and while 
the home was still on a farm, young Foss got 
his first taste of city life and attended the Ports- 
mouth High School. To carry on his work 
there he had to walk three miles twice a day 
through all kinds of weather. He was gradu- 
ated in 1877, and after one year at Tilton Sem- 
inary he went to Providence and enrolled at 
Brown University. 

In college he developed the traits of the hard 
student. It was necessary that he support 
himself, and he worked at odd jobs. During 
the summer vacations he worked on farms, earn- 
ing money for the year ahead. He had a rather 
stiff time of it, but pluck and determination 

[151] 



Working One's Way Through College 

brought him through, and by the time he was 
ready for his degree his literary ability had 
begun to make itself known, and he was made 
class poet. He was graduated in 1882. 

These are sufficient citations to suggest that 
in the highest ranks in the land, men and women 
who are at the front in education, literature, 
art, statesmanship, finance, and in every depart- 
ment, are among those who have heroically con- 
ceived and faithfully executed plans for winning 
their own way through college and university. 



[152] 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE CAREER OF A VERY NOTABLE 
SELF-HELPER 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime. 

— Longfellow 

WHILE in the last chapter there were given 
brief sketches of several notable persons 
who earned their way through college, it will 
serve as a further inspiration to others to pre- 
sent in fuller detail the career of a man known 
throughout the nation, one still in middle life, who 
is as eminent an instance of the success of the 
self-supporting student as can be found. We 
shall tell not only of his early struggles but of 
his later successes and of what he stands for, for we 
are interested not only in learning how youths 
get through college but in what they accomplish 
afterwards. 

There is no man in our nation to-day whose 
career contains more inspiration for ambitious 
young people than the Hon. Albert J. Beveridge. 

[153] 



Working One's Way Through College 

He is a concrete, living example of what youth 
may hope to be and should strive for. In this 
account of Mr. Beveridge, there is here given 
certain material sent me by his secretary, and 
extracts are included from an interview by Rich- 
ard Lloyd Jones with one of the professors in De 
Pauw University and published in Collier's 
Weekly. 

A farmer boy at twelve, a section hand on a 
railroad at thirteen, a logger at fifteen, a cow- 
boy in the West at twenty-one, a lawyer at twenty- 
five, and United States Senator at thirty-six. 
That sentence marks the transition in the life of 
Albert J. Beveridge, who was, until the elections 
of 1910, for a number of years United States 
Senator from Indiana. 

In 1899 he was an object of ridicule to some 
when he aspired to the high office of United States 
Senator; two years later he was mistrusted as 
a youth of vaulting ambitions ; in recent years 
rising to the highest rank among the statesmen 
of the nation, his works and deeds have marked 
him as one of the ablest of the Senators; to-day 
he is trusted by all people of all parties and ad- 
mitted even by enemies to be " square." 

Senator Beveridge was born on a farm, in 
Highland County, Ohio, October 6, 1862. At 

[ 154 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the time of his birth his father, a loyal Union man, 
and all the other grown male members of the 
family were at the front fighting for the life of 
the Union. The mother remained at home and 
cared for the farm and made frequent trips 
through the neighborhood gathering up clothing 
and supplies to send to the soldiers at the front. 
Thus Senator Beveridge comes from loyal, 
patriotic stock. 

At the close of the war his father found him- 
self heavily in debt. He lost everything he pos- 
sessed, and the hardships of poverty came upon 
the family. When Beveridge was five years of 
age, and the wolf was at the family door, his 
father leased a large farm in Illinois and moved 
to that State, hoping to recover a part of what 
he had lost during the war through signing as 
security for neighbors and friends. It was in Il- 
linois that the boy hired out at thirteen to a 
contractor who was building a railroad, and he 
drove a team and handled an old-fashioned scraper 
in making grades. Two years later he took em- 
ployment with a logging camp in the walnut for- 
ests of Illinois, and it is his boast to this day 
that, single handed, he can fell a tree, saw it into 
logs, load it on the log wagon and haul it out of 
the woods in as straight a t^ail as any logger in 

[155] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the State. He soon became the boss of the log- 
ging camp, and on more than one occasion when 
the rough loggers engaged in rights, Albert Bev- 
eridge, the boy boss, had to wade in and restore 
order with a cant-hook or a spike. 

While he was working in the logging camp, 
Albert Beveridge was saving what little money 
he could earn and was reading everything he 
could get his hands on. He craved an education. 
He had ambition which he hoped to achieve. He 
entered the common school late and quit early, and 
saw little chance of getting an education. One day 
he noticed that an examination was to be held for 
appointment of a cadet at West Point, and he de- 
cided to try for it. He stood second in the ex- 
amination and was appointed an alternate, but his 
successful competitor won the place. Disappointed 
in this, he laid his troubles before a lumberman 
named Ed. Anderson, who now lives at LaMoure, 
South Dakota. Mr. Anderson said he would help 
him to go to college. Albert decided to go to As- 
bury University, now De Pauw University, at 
Greencastle, Indiana. Mr. Anderson loaned 
him fifty dollars to make his start, and on this 
fifty dollars Albert J. Beveridge began his col- 
lege career. He made every cent of this pre- 
cious money go as far as he could. 

[ 156] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The young student carried his trunk on his 
back from the railroad station to his boarding- 
house at Greencastle, to save the twenty-five 
cents the transfer man would have charged for 
hauling it. Of course he lived cheaply. In a 
month or two he became the steward of a club, 
and this gave him his board for nothing. Then 
he began to contest for cash prizes, and he took 
every prize he contested for. He won enough 
money by taking prizes to pay his way through 
two years of his college life. At the end of the 
first year he went back to the Illinois farm and 
drove the first self-binding reaper ever used in 
that part of the State. He worked early and 
late, and by the opening of the next college term 
he had seventy-five dollars. At the end of the 
next year he became a book agent and tramped 
over parts of Tippecanoe County selling a book 
entitled " Error's Chains." He was successful, 
and at the beginning of the next year he had 
two hundred dollars. This year brought more 
prizes. At the end of his third year the book- 
publishing house offered him a State agency in 
any State he might choose, and he chose Iowa. 
A number of college boys enlisted under him. 
In Iowa he placed them in various sections, each 
unknown to the other, so they could not write 

[157] 



Working One's Way Through College 

letters to each other and tell of their homesick- 
ness. Albert never allowed them to have enough 
money to go back home, and they had to sell 
books ; and they did sell books, making money 
for themselves and for Albert. 

So, at the beginning of the next college year 
they all came back together. Albert had saved 
two hundred and fifty dollars. He took more 
prizes, among them one of one hundred dollars. 
So he came out of college with all debts paid 
and a tidy sum in his pocket. But his health 
was broken by hard mental and physical work. 
He had taken the Interstate Oratorical Con- 
test prize with an oration on " Capital and 
Labor," and was by far the best debater in 
De Pauw. He was elected " Pater " of the Del- 
ta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. College politics 
was as fierce and heated as politics in county 
and State. Combinations were formed to con- 
trol the offices in literary and debating societies, 
but Albert remained outside the combinations, 
and in every instance he beat the politicians by 
working with the " barbs," as the men are 
known who do not belong to any society. One 
of his college friends said recently that " Bev., 
as he was known, was always square; he never 
lied to anybody, and he was a fighter. And 

[158] 



Working One's Way Through College 

after these fights were over he was generous and 
held no ill-will." 

After leaving college Beveridge went to western 
Kansas and eastern Colorado and lived with the 
cowboys. He nursed one of them, Steve Cross- 
cup from Texas, through a spell of sickness. 
Crosscup afterwards saved Beveridge's life in a 
gun fight. He formed a partnership with a cow- 
boy named McClellan, and they made a consider- 
able sum of money by guiding settlers to the 
lands they had entered. Both knew the country 
thoroughly. McClellan knew the surveying stones 
and Beveridge knew how to make out the papers 
for the settlers. In this way Albert regained his 
health and accumulated three hundred dollars. 

He wanted to study law in Indiana, because he 
had fallen in love with the State during his col- 
lege days. During his student days he had made a 
good many political speeches, and in the Blaine 
campaign he had stumped the State from one end 
to the other, being one of the speakers on the 
Blaine special train. He made a great hit with the 
people who heard him. His reputation grew, and 
the State committee assigned him to such impor- 
tant towns as LaFayette, Richmond, Kokomo, and 
Columbus. He wanted to cast his lot with the 
people of Indiana and remain with them, a part 

[159] 



Working One's Way Through College 

of the State as long as he lived. When he came 
back from Kansas he had three hundred dollars. 
He tried to get a place in General Harrison's office 
to read law, but there was no place for him. But 
he found a chair and the loan of law books in the 
office of McDonald, Butler, and Mason, one of the 
great law firms of the country. The way seemed 
clear for him. 

Through some friends he had won while making 
campaign speeches he secured the position of read- 
ing clerk of the Legislature in 1886-87. This 
helped him out considerably. After the first six 
months, McDonald, Butler, and Mason paid him a 
small salar}'. At the end of the first year Mason 
decided to open his own law office. The position of 
managing clerk was then offered to young Beve- 
ridge, and he took it at the salary of eighteen 
hundred dollars a year. He assisted in the trial 
of many important cases. For more than a year 
he remained as managing clerk of the firm, and 
then opened his own office in a little back room in 
the same building with the older firm. He was 
successful from the start. He got big cases, and 
won them. In fourteen years of practice he lost 
only one case on appeal to the Supreme and 
Appellate courts. While practising law he did 
nothing else than practise law. He made speeches 

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Working One's Way Through College 

during campaigns, but during a campaign there 
is little to do in the law practice. He became rec- 
ognized as one of the most effective speakers the 
Republican party had in the entire country. But 
he declined to become a candidate for office of any 
kind. 

Time went on until the Spanish-American War 
broke out. Young Beveridge had studied, and 
had ideas on territorial expansion. He made these 
ideas known and was laughed at for doing so. He 
prophesied with great earnestness what would hap- 
pen as a result of that war, but he was ridiculed 
for his ideas. Just before the war broke out 
Beveridge made a speech at a banquet, where 
Theodore Roosevelt, then assistant Secretary of 
the Navy, was present. After the speech Mr. 
Roosevelt spoke, and the first words of his speech 
were : " This young man has made the best pre- 
sentation of Republican principles that I have 
ever heard." At this banquet began the close 
friendship between the future President and the 
future Senator, which has been maintained with 
ever increasing devotion. 

Events which followed proved that the ideas 
presented by Beveridge were correct. He opened 
the campaign of 1898 at Tomlinson Hall with 
a speech that attracted the attention of the entire 

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Working One's Way Through College 

country. Hundreds of thousands of copies were 
printed and distributed. In it he took the position 
that it was our duty to civilization and the world 
to hold the Philippine Islands and to administer 
them. 

After the election some of Albert Beveridge's 
friends urged him to become a candidate for Uni- 
ted States Senator. He told them he would make 
the race because there was great work ahead, and 
he would like to help to do it. So his name was 
announced. The older politicians laughed. They 
took it as a great joke. They were not at all 
alarmed. Nobody took Beveridge's candidacy 
seriously. Beveridge was only thirty-six years 
old, and they said it was absurd to send as young 
a man as that to the Senate. Beveridge had no 
money and no organization. He had no " ma- 
chine," and they said no man could win without 
the machine. But Beveridge sentiment started to 
grow over the State. Business men and laboring 
men formed organizations in his behalf. When the 
caucus was held, Albert J. Beveridge was nomi- 
nated by a good majority. 

After his election, Senator Beveridge had a 
secret conference with President McKinley, and 
then set out for the Philippines to study condi- 
tions. At that time little was known about those 

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islands. Senator Beveridge spent three months in 
going over the islands, wherever the troops went, 
and in two of them he went beyond our lines. He 
consulted the leading men of the islands. On his 
way back he visited Japan and China. For more 
than a week after his return from the Philippines, 
Senator Beveridge was in conference with Presi- 
dent McKinley. Soon after he took the oath of 
office as Senator he delivered his Philippine speech, 
in which was first made known the policy of the 
Government toward those islands. Ridiculous 
stories had been circulated in Washington about 
young Beveridge. It was circulated that he was 
only an accident, and that his speeches were only 
froth, and that he was only a loud declaimer. So 
when he announced that he would make a speech 
there was a good deal of fun on the part of the 
Representatives and Senators. The people, how- 
ever, were interested, and they packed the Senate 
chamber and the galleries. Many members of 
the House came over to the Senate to hear the 
speech and enjoy the fun. The newspaper men 
also believed there would be a lot of fun and that 
it would be as good as a show to hear Beveridge 
speak. But at the close of his speech the people 
applauded. Senators and Representatives crowded 
around him and congratulated him. The papers 

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changed their attitude. They agreed that there 
was something to Senator Beveridge. 

But later this sentiment changed again. Sena- 
tor Beveridge announced that he would make a 
speech on the Porto Rico tariff bill. A large 
crowd was present again. But the older Senators 
decided to squelch him. They said he was making 
too many speeches. A new Senator was not sup- 
posed to make a speech until he had been in the 
Senate two years. So when Senator Beveridge 
arose to begin his speech the Senators of both 
parties walked out of the chamber. During his 
speech only three Democratic Senators and one 
Republican Senator remained in the chamber. 

This insult was supposed to end his career. 
No other man in the history of the Senate had 
been thus insulted and humiliated. His political 
friends in Indiana wrote him that it would be 
impossible for him to recover from the humiliation. 
But his speech had done its work, and when the 
campaign opened that fall Senator Beveridge was 
selected to make the opening speech, sounding 
the keynote, in the West, at Chicago. It was a 
remarkable meeting. Then the National Com- 
mittee sent Senator Beveridge on a special train 
to Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and 
Indiana. And yet this was the man whom only 

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a few months before the Senate had " walked out 
on " and whose career friends and foes alike said 
had ended. 

When Theodore Roosevelt became President it 
was natural that he should find Senator 
Beveridge one of his ardent supporters. He be- 
lieved in the Roosevelt policies. Theodore Roose- 
velt was fond of the young Senator. He liked 
Beveridge's tireless energy, his painstaking in- 
dustry, his enthusiasm, his fighting qualities, his 
faithfulness to a friend and to a trust, and he 
liked Beveridge's absolute honesty. Roosevelt 
and Beveridge are much alike in the strenuous- 
ness of their lives. They have much the same 
way of saying what they think. Beveridge has 
always been a firm supporter of the Roosevelt 
policies, and Roosevelt supported the legislation 
which Beveridge proposed. This was notably 
true in the case of the Meat Inspection Bill, 
which was introduced and made into law by forces 
led by Senator Beveridge. 

When it appeared that opposition would be made 
to the nomination of President Roosevelt for an- 
other term, Senator Beveridge crossed the con- 
tinent from California to Connecticut, speaking 
for the Republican ticket in every State, and 
advocating Theodore Roosevelt. In the national 

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Working Ones Way Through College 

convention Senator Bcveridge seconded the nomina- 
tion of Theodore Roosevelt. 

The Pure Food Bill was enacted into a law a 
short time after the following election, and this 
was accomplished through the storm of public 
sentiment that was created in the fight for the 
Meat Inspection Bill. 

Another measure in which Senator Beveridge has 
taken intense interest is the proposition to abolish 
child labor throughout the land. This fight he has 
waged in the face of the most bitter opposition. It 
has resulted in a start in the right direction. 
Many of the States have revised and improved 
their laws on this subject, and it is only a ques- 
tion of time until the ideas of Mr. Beveridge along 
this line will be enacted into law. Organized labor 
universally supports the reform; women's clubs 
favor it ; ministers preach it from their pulpits. 

Senator Beveridge introduced in the Senate a 
bill for the creation of a tariff commission, and has 
fought for it with all his power and energy. The 
Senate leaders were bitterly opposed to the idea. 
Mr. Beveridge was rebuked for suggesting such 
a thing as a Republican policy. The fight con- 
tinued. 

During this time the national campaign came on. 
Senator Beveridge led the Indiana delegation to 

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the Republican National Convention and stanchly 
supported its candidate, Vice-President Fairbanks, 
for the nomination for President. As chairman of 
the subcommittee he visited many other State dele- 
gations, speaking in behalf of Mr. Fairbanks. As 
chairman of the State delegation he cast the solid 
vote of Indiana for its candidate in the conven- 
tion, — the only State in the convention that gave 
its solid support to its own candidate for the 
nomination for President. Thus again Senator 
Beveridge showed his loyalty to his own State. 
Vice-President Fairbanks greatly appreciated the 
effective services of Senator Beveridge, and sent 
a warm telegram of hearty thanks to him for his 
fidelity. At this convention Mr. Beveridge was 
twice offered the nomination for Vice-President by 
those having authority to do so, but he firmly 
declined. 

After the convention Mr. Taft, the nominee for 
President, asked Senator Beveridge and Governor 
Hughes of New York to open the national cam- 
paign at Youngstown, Ohio. Both speeches were 
printed, and hundreds of thousands of copies were 
circulated. The national committee sent Senator 
Beveridge on the most extended speaking tour ever 
undertaken by a public man. He began in New 
York, then crossed the continent to the Pacific, 

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Working One's Way Through College 

thence down the coast and zigzagging across the 
continent again through various States. He was 
on this trip about six weeks, speaking every day 
from morning till night and closing each day with 
a long speech at night. 

Soon after the inauguration of President Taft, 
the extra session of Congress was called to revise 
the tariff. The part which Senator Beveridge took 
in this great fight is still fresh in the minds of the 
people. President Taft had declared that the tariff 
was to be revised downward, and Senator Beveridge 
took the position that this declaration and promise 
should be carried out. That was why he fought so 
hard and so earnestly for revision downward. 

It is a notable fact that the policy laid down 
by Senator Beveridge in his first speech on the 
Philippine government question has been followed 
even to the smallest detail to this day by the 
United States Government. 

Some time before the Russo-Japanese War Mr. 
Beveridge went to Manchuria and spent several 
months in investigating conditions. When he re- 
turned he wrote a book entitled " The Russian 
Advance," in which he forecast with the greatest 
accuracy the war which followed between Russia 
and Japan. The war came on within two years 
after the publication of the Senator's book. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Senator Beveridge made the historic fight that 
resulted in the admission of Oklahoma and Indian 
Territory into the Union as one State instead of 
two small States. Single-handed and alone for 
several years he fought this battle against power- 
ful foes, until his plan was finally adopted by 
Congress. 

He also made the fight which brought in the 
two gigantic Territories of Arizona and New 
Mexico as separate States. The conditions were 
entirely different from those in Oklahoma and 
Indian Territory. The two Territories were 
opposed to being brought in as one State, and 
Senator Beveridge helped them to fight their battle. 
When the New Mexico and Arizona statehood bills 
passed Congress and were signed by the President, 
the union of the States became complete. Senator 
Beveridge had charge of these fights because he was 
chairman of the Committee on Territories. 

During his term in the Senate Mr. Beveridge has 
received credit for the following constructive legis- 
lation : 

Moulding the Philippine legislative policy, which 
has produced peace and order with civil govern- 
ment in the archipelago. 

The removal of the tariff wall between the United 
States and Porto Rico. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Statehood for Oklahoma and Indian Territory, 
as against a proposal to organize two States. 

Statehood for New Mexico and Arizona. 

Enactment of the federal Meat Inspection Law. 

Enactment of the Pure Food Laws. 

Development of reforms in connection with child 
labor. 

Protection against spoliation of the coal lands of 
Alaska. 

Senator Beveridge combines a happy blending 
of conservatism and progressiveness. He is a 
practical example of what a young man can do 
by energy and hard work. His career appeals 
keenly to young men. He does not believe that all 
the great deeds have been done in the past and 
that none remains to be done. He believes that 
even greater things will be done in the future. He 
is a man of the hour, and the future holds much 
in store for him. 

He is the true type of the self-made man, for he 
has come from the ranks of the lowly, has known 
the hardships of hunger and poverty, and has made 
his way by sheer use of his will and his energy. 
He has been true to the people, and he still sticks 
to his motto : " The people only are my masters, 
and to the people I will be true." 

It will be of interest to add some extracts from 

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an article called " The Beginnings of Beveridge," 
written by Richard Lloyd Jones and published in 
Collier's Weekly, October 15, 1910. This writer 
tells of an interview with Professor Carhart, who 
had been one of Beveridge's teachers : 

" One day Beveridge walked into Professor Car- 
hart's room with an air of self-possession and perfect 
assurance. Carhart held the chair of English and 
oratory. ' Professor/ he began to explain, ' I need 
about three hundred dollars to finish here at De Pauw.' 
Taking a slip of paper and a pencil he began to enu- 
merate : ' Now, there is the mathematical prize of 
twenty-five dollars; the Latin prize of thirty dollars; 
the historical prize of thirty-five dollars; the home 
oratorical prize of forty dollars ; the State oratorical 
prize of fifty dollars; the interstate oratorical prize 
of seventy-five dollars, and the De Pauw oratorical 
prize of one hundred dollars. Now, you see, if I get 
all these I'll have a balance.' 

" * I looked at him/ said Professor Carhart, ' and 
I thought he was the queerest guy that ever came to 
college. I wanted to laugh. I had never seen or 
heard anything like it. But I thought that any chap 
who could seriously approach any faculty man with 
such a programme in a serious frame of mind ought 
to be encouraged. So I treated him seriously and 
encouraged him. From that moment on he fascinated 
me. He has been the most interesting man that I 
have ever known. 

" ' He won every blessed prize but the Latin prize/ 

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Working One's Way Through College 

said the Senator's professor, with a meditative smile, 
' and he got second place in that. He came out with 
the balance all right. 

1 He is one of the most positive men I have ever 
known. If he thinks he is right, nothing can divert 
him. Show him he is wrong, and he changes at once. 
He swings like a magnet to what he thinks is right, — 
always. I have never known him to hold to a declara- 
tion or opinion when he was convinced that that dec- 
laration or opinion was wrong; I have never known 
him to disobey a conviction, even though to disobey 
might promise to bring reward.' 

" Professor Carhart had told him to remember that 
Demosthenes declared, 'The real orator is he who an- 
ticipates the history of his time,' and he advised him 
to heed this and not put too much stress upon ges- 
ture or modulations of tone. So when Beveridge 
entered a contest at Columbus for the Interstate Col- 
legiate Oratorical prize, he ' went at his audience 
with some hot, impatient convictions about the vital 
national problems centred in Capital and Labor, and 
when he jumped out of his studied text and into the 
news sensation of that very hour with, * This very 
day in Pittsburg — ' there was not a chair-back in 
use in the house. Even the adjudicators forgot there 
was a contest. Good old President Martin led the 
faculty, which escorted De Pauw's orator from the 
station to the campus. The crowds cheered, the band 
played, the sun shone, and Beveridge struggled to be 
calm and not to seem to care.' 

" Beveridge was a time-keeper. He balanced his 
hours and minutes as an auditor balances dollars and 

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Working One's Way Through College 

cents. When he borrowed an hour from his study 
ledger for his caper account, he saw to it that that 
account was promptly straightened out. He missed 
none of the activities of college life. He would bor- 
row and lend time to himself freely, but he always 
squared the account." 

Such are some of the facts in the life of a plucky, 
talented, energetic young American who fought 
his own way through college, as well as elsewhere, 
and who may serve as a conspicuous illustration of 
what the man that works his way through college 
can do. 

Of course it would be folly for every lad to 
assume that he can do all that Beveridge has done. 
But he will do better according to his own talents 
and conditions if he, without attempting to imitate 
in details Beveridge's career, will work and hope in 
the same spirit and with a like courage. 



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CHAPTER XVII 

HELP IN FOREIGN COLLEGES AND 
UNIVERSITIES 

I wish some one had pointed out to me years ago 
the advantages of foreign study in, say, the German 
universities, and the ease with which this can be 
accomplished. — Prof. W. H. Sherzer. 

T N order that this book may be helpful, not only 
* to those who may wish to confine their efforts 
to getting education at colleges in the United 
States, but to such as may aim to extend their 
efforts to some one or more of the foreign 
universities, I have conducted an extensive corre- 
spondence with educational institutions over a large 
part of the world. The chief points of interest 
thus gained are given in this chapter. Full details 
as to all these institutions would of course carry 
us beyond the limits proposed in this volume. 
The student may here obtain hints of what he seeks 
and may then follow the clews by personal 
investigation. 

As Canada is our near and friendly neighbor, 
and as this book may be useful both to students 

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Working One's Way Through College 

in this country who may for any reason wish to 
study in Canada, and to Canadians who may wish 
to study in the United States, we will first give 
some facts in regard to Canadian colleges. 

The Registrar of the University of Toronto 
wrote : 

" I think I am safe in saying that a very large pro- 
portion of the students of this University are helping 
to put themselves through. Just how many are doing 
that I cannot say; but take such a Faculty as that of 
Applied Science, and I presume that seventy-five per 
cent are engaged in work over summer; and they do 
so for two distinct reasons. They are making a 
pretty fair amount of money, but they are at the same 
time getting experience. 

" In the Faculties of Arts and Medicine many of 
the students are busy over summer at one occupation 
or another, adding to their funds or making funds to 
put themselves through the University. 

" In the Faculty of Applied Science the University 
does a good deal through its officers to secure situa- 
tions for the students. 

" The Young Men's Christian Association of the 
University has a bureau of self-help which has 
brought good results. A large number of students go 
annually to our own Northwest, where they teach in 
the summer schools and return in the fall to take up 
their work. 

" We have no funds in the University to assist 
students, but we have a good many scholarships, which 

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Working One's Way Through College 

are awarded each year on the results of examinations. 
There are in the Arts department in the University 
something like about fifty scholarships granting free 
tuition for a year. If the student makes a sufficiently 
high standing year by year they may extend to four 
years' free tuition. Frequently we have over a hun- 
dred students in Arts who are paying no tuition fees." 

The Young Men's Christian Association of the 
University of Toronto issues a card in this form 
for distribution: 

" The Medium between the work to be done and 
the student who will do it. 

A FREE BUREAU FOR EMPLOYMENT 

If you have any kind of work to be done and you 
need an energetic young man to do it, 

If it happens to be a steady job, 

If it takes but a few hours, or 

If it means but a single hour's work, communicate 
by letter or telephone with 

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Y. M. C. A. 

The telephone number and the office hours are 
given. 

The Employment Bureau issues an application 
sheet, the information filled in by the applicant to 
be considered as confidential. The applicant gives 
name, age, college, academic year, city address, 
home address, states what his resources for the 

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Working One's Way Through College 

year may be and to what extent he is depend- 
ent on his own efforts to pay his way through 
college. 

A printed list of jobs is given, and he checks 
with an X the kinds of employment he is willing to 
accept, and with XX the kinds in which he is ex- 
perienced and proficient. He states also what his 
previous experience in earning money has been, 
place employed, length of time employed, and char- 
acter of the work. 

He fills in a schedule of his course and other 
fixed engagements. He signs his name to an 
agreement to report, on a blank furnished by the 
Association, to the Association on January 1 and 
April 1, as to the positions he has obtained and 
the money earned since his last report, through 
the Association and otherwise, and any change to 
be made in the form of his application, particularly 
as to his time schedule and address. He promises 
also to consider as confidential any opportunities 
of employment given by the Association, and to 
refrain from referring others to such positions as 
he may be unable to accept. 

Altogether, the Toronto Young Men's Christian 
Association plan strikes one as among the most 
business-like and thorough and promising that 
have been reported. 

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The Registrar of McGill University, Montreal, 
states in a letter: 

" A large number of our students help to pay their 
college expenses by working during the compara- 
tively long summer vacation, but not many work dur- 
ing the session whilst they are engaged in their 
regular studies. The fact is, they have little time 
for this sort of thing. There is no regularly organ- 
ized committee to secure employment for students. 
This is generally done, in the case of students in 
Applied Science, through the heads of departments, 
who are supposed to be in touch with persons and 
companies likely to employ students. The University 
Young Men's Christian Association has an Employ- 
ment Bureau. 

" There are a number of exhibitions and scholar- 
ships open to students, but these are awarded always 
by competition. There is really no fund to help 
needy students." 

The Young Men's Christian Association of 
McGill University wrote me through its Secretary : 

" Many men find work to partly support them- 
selves, but the time table, especially in Science and 
Medicine, is so crowded that there is little time for 
outside work. One year the Young Men's Christian 
Association maintained an employment bureau; but 
the last two or three years, although we have obtained 
work for men in tutoring and teaching, nothing of 
a systematic nature has been done. As the term is 

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Working One's Way Through College 

short and there are about five months' holidays men 
can earn a considerable amount in that time. I am 
unable to give you any exact information on the sub- 
ject." 

Crossing the sea to old Scotland, the home of 
ambitious but poor lads who have a heroic tradi- 
tion of living on small rations at universities, we 
find that by the grace of Mr. Andrew Carnegie 
the perils of cultivating brains on limited sup- 
plies of oatmeal porridge have been considerably 
lessened. We may rejoice at this fact, though 
some people on that side are fearful that these 
funds will relax the efforts of the youths and 
cause it to be no longer true that " all great 
Englishmen are Scotchmen." 

The Secretary of Aberdeen University writes: 

" In reply to your enquiry regarding students at 
this University, I have to say that a certain propor- 
tion of the Arts students supplement their means by 
private teaching and tuition. There is no ' Self-Help 
Committee ' of the nature you indicate to assist stu- 
dents to find work. Aberdeen University is very well 
equipped with ' Bursaries ' ; that is, Scholarships 
varying in amount from ten pounds (fifty dollars) 
to thirty pounds (one hundred and fifty dollars) a 
year and tenable for three or four years; which are 
of two descriptions — either (1) 'Presentation/ 
which are in the gift of patrons and are conferred on 
students coming from certain districts or bearing 

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Working One's Way Through College 

certain names, or who are otherwise considered deserv- 
ing by the patrons; and (2) 'Competition.' These 
are open to all comers, and are awarded on the re- 
sults of a competitive examination held each year. 

" In common with the other Scottish Universities, 
Aberdeen students are also eligible for the Carnegie 
Benefaction, under which the class fees of students 
of Scottish birth are paid by the Carnegie Trust." 

Mr. Carnegie gave, some years ago, fifteen mil- 
lion dollars as a fund for the education of 
Scottish youths, and it is to this the Secretary of 
Aberdeen University refers. 

The University of Edinburgh and the University 
of Glasgow and others of Scotland all have 
numerous prizes, scholarships, and fellowships. 
In all alike, native Scottish students have the 
benefit of the Carnegie Fund. 

These universities, as well as those of England 
and Ireland, and in fact of the European conti- 
nent as well, have had from their beginnings hosts 
of poor students who have been helped and have 
helped themselves in one way or another. Aside 
from the relatively few sons of nobles and of 
wealthy people who have from generation to 
generation attended these great schools, there 
has always been a multitude of students with 
little or no means. Many of these struggling ones 
have become the leaders of their generations. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, sent a long 
list of the " exhibitions " awarded on the results 
of the examinations held by the Board of Inter- 
mediate Education in Ireland. These are awarded 
without requiring candidates to present themselves 
at the Exhibition Examination held in the college, 
and without any restriction as to the schools at 
which contestants shall have received their 
education. 

Sir John Gardiner Nutting, Bart., established 
ten exhibitions of fifty pounds each per annum, 
to be awarded by the Board of Trinity College, 
Dublin, from among the persons, male and female, 
who distinguish themselves in a given year at either 
the Senior or the Middle Grade Examinations of 
the Board of Intermediate Education in Ireland; 
and who shall have, for at least two years previ- 
ously, regularly attended, and been educated at, an 
unendowed Irish Secondary School. 

It is stated that the exhibitions in question 
are not sufficient to support a student wholly, but 
are intended as an assistance to such as desire to 
obtain a high education at a moderate cost. There 
are, however, so many other prizes open to them 
in the college that students of exceptional talent 
may easily obtain a free education. 

The actual cost of the college course is, in fees, 

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Working One's Way Through College 

fifteen pounds at matriculation, and eight half- 
yearly payments of eight pounds, eight shillings, 
together with one pound for the degree, — in all 
eighty-three pounds and four shillings, spread over 
four years. For this the student obtains tutorial 
teaching in Arts, amounting at least to two hours 
per day during each term. There is no fee for 
examinations. The professional schools of the 
college, except those of Divinity and Law, require 
special fees. 

The whole expense, therefore, to a student, of 
pursuing his Arts course, and obtaining the B. A. 
degree, and also of living either in college or in 
Dublin during eight months of the year, need not 
exceed two pounds per week during such residence 
for three and one-half years. If he resides during 
vacation, as is often expedient for his studies, he 
will be in college or in Dublin nine or ten months. 

On the other hand the following prizes, to which 
the student may fairly aspire, may reduce his ex- 
penses, or even outbalance them: (1) Entrance 
Exhibitions, as above, and Entrance Prizes to the 
number of twenty-two ; {%) Sizarships ; (3) Senior 
Exhibitions; (4) Scholarships; (5) Studentships 
and Prizes at Moderatorship. Fellowship and Fel- 
lowship Prizes are Post-Graduate. 

Since details as to Trinity College will throw 

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Working One's Way Through College 

light upon expenses at foreign universities in gen- 
eral we shall give further information. 

What does the education of a proficient student 
at Trinity College really cost ? Let us suppose the 
student to be a Nutting Exhibitioner (fifty pounds 
a year for two years). He may obtain prizes of 
five pounds or two pounds in various subjects at 
entrance. Let us say seven pounds on this account. 
Or else he may compete for a Sizarship, of which 
about ten are given yearly. If he succeed, this 
will relieve him from all college fees, and give him 
free commons daily, and entitle him to rooms at a 
rent of about five pounds to seven pounds per 
annum. If he fails in this somewhat severe com- 
petition, he can still pay his October fees by obtain- 
ing first-class honors in two subjects. 

At the close of his second year, when his En- 
trance Exhibition expires, he may obtain one of 
the sixteen Senior Exhibitions (twelve of twenty 
pounds, and four of fifteen pounds, for two years), 
which will last till his degree. He may in his third 
year win a Foundation Scholarship (value about 
sixty pounds for five years), and may end his Arts 
course with a gold medal in some one subject, 
carrying with it a prize of fifteen pounds to forty 
pounds. If this gold medal should be obtained in 
either of the primary subjects of Mathematics or 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Classics, he may obtain a Studentship of one hun- 
dred pounds a year for five years. A diligent 
student, therefore, starting with an Intermediate 
Exhibition and a Board Exhibition, can hardly 
fail to obtain some of the distinctions above enu- 
merated; and in so far his expenses will be con- 
siderably reduced, or entirely counterbalanced. 

The Registrar of the University of Oxford, 
England, wrote me : " The Colleges at Oxford have 
no ' Self-Help ' committees, such as you mention. 
1 The Student's Handbook ' gives all information 
as to scholarships and exhibitions for poor stu- 
dents at the various colleges." On reference to this 
handbook we find an amazing list of scholarships, 
prizes, exhibitions, and fellowships. No adequate 
idea can be given of these in our limited space. 
Those who are interested in this phase of the sub- 
ject should procure the handbooks of Oxford and 
of Cambridge and study them for themselves. A 
good student in vigorous health would seem to 
stand a fair chance of paying his way entirely 
through one of these great institutions by captur- 
ing prizes and scholarships. 

American students are of course interested in 
the bearing of the Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford 
upon their own possibilities. Cecil Rhodes, who 
died at Cape Town, South Africa, March 28, 1902, 

[ 184 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

directed in his will, dated July 1, 1899, that a part 
of his fortune, estimated at ten million dollars, 
should be applied to the creation of a fund for 
the support of a certain number of scholarships 
covering a three-years' course at the University of 
Oxford. He directed that the selection of the 
recipients of this gift should be made two from 
each State and Territory of the United States, 
fifteen from Germany, and from one to nine from 
each of the British Colonies. The scholarships are 
awarded on marks only, three-tenths whereof shall 
be given to a candidate for his Literary and 
Scholastic attainments, the remainder being for his 
love of outdoor athletics and sports, for strong 
manly qualities such as courage, generosity, and 
kindness, and for high moral character, and espe- 
cially for ambition to serve and lead in public 
affairs. 

Scholars from Cape Colony are chosen by the 
individual schools to which the scholarships are 
especially assigned. In several of the Canadian 
provinces and in a few States of the United States 
of America it has been decided that an appoint- 
ment shall be made in rotation by the leading 
universities. Under this system the field of selec- 
tion each year is somewhat narrowed, but it is 
possible to carry out more closely than otherwise 

[185] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the suggestions made by Mr. Rhodes, who appears 
to have had in his mind selection by a single insti- 
tution. The five German students for whom 
annual provision is made are nominated, accord- 
ing to the terms of the will, by the Emperor him- 
self. In the great majority of the States of the 
Union; in outlying colonies, like Bermuda, 
Jamaica, and Newfoundland ; in four provinces of 
Canada ; in New Zealand, and the States of Aus- 
tralia, the final choice of the scholar is left in the 
hands of a Committee of Selection. Great care 
has been taken in the constitution of these com- 
mittees, as it has been felt that on the wise and 
impartial exercise of their judgment depends more 
than upon anything else the full success of the 
scheme. 

In most of the States the selection is made by a 
committee appointed by representatives of the col- 
leges ; in some the appointments are made in rota- 
tion by the leading colleges. 

The conditions regulating the award of scholar- 
ships in the American States provide that the can- 
didates shall have satisfactorily completed the work 
of at least two years in some college of liberal arts 
and sciences. Except under extraordinary circum- 
stances, the upper age limit must be twenty-four 
years at the time of entering upon the scholarship 

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Working One's Way Through College 

at Oxford. To be eligible, the candidate must 
be a citizen of the United States, or the son of a 
citizen, and must be unmarried. Each student 
receives an allowance of three hundred pounds 
($1,500) a year, payable in quarterly instal- 
ments, which is just enough to enable him to pay 
his college fees and necessary expenses. As the 
first instalment is not available until some time 
after the arrival of the student, he should go 
abroad with one or two hundred dollars in his 
possession. 

At the beginning of Michaelmas term, October, 
1904, there entered Oxford seventy-two Rhodes 
scholars ; forty-three were Americans, twenty-four 
Colonials, and five Germans. In 1906 the full 
number, one hundred and ninety in all, were in 
residence ; and thereafter this number will be main- 
tained, the vacancies being filled as men complete 
their three-year courses. An examination took 
place in the United States in October, 1910. 
There will be examinations in 1912, 1913, 1915 
and so on, omitting every third year. The exam- 
inations are not competitive but qualifying. 
Inquiries as to particulars by intending candidates 
may be addressed to any college. Information 
about Oxford, its colleges and courses of studies, 

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Working One's Way Through College 

should be addressed to F. J. Wylic, the Oxford 
agent of the Rhodes trustees, Oxford, England. 

All candidates in each State must pass an 
Oxford Responsions examination, and one com- 
petitor will be named for each by the com- 
mittee or university charged with making appoint- 
ments. Scholars must have reached at least the 
end of their sophomore or second-year work at 
some recognized degree-granting university or col- 
lege of the United States. Scholars must be 
between nineteen and twenty-five years of age. It 
is intended to have at all times two beneficiaries at 
Oxford from each of the forty-eight States. 

Copies of Oxford Responsion papers for past 
years can be obtained from the Oxford University 
Press, Nos. 91 and 95 Fifth Avenue, New York. 

The President of the State University or College 
is in each of the following States chairman of the 
committee of selection for that State; Alabama, 
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, 
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mon- 
tana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Car- 
olina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, 
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, 
Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

The following chairmen have been named for 
other States: Connecticut, President Arthur T. 
Hadley, Yale University ; Illinois, President Harry 
Pratt Judson, University of Chicago ; Kentucky, 
President D. B. Gray, Georgetown College ; Mary- 
land, President W. A. Remsen, Johns Hopkins 
University ; Massachusetts, President A. Lawrence 
Lowell, Harvard University ; New Jersey, the Rev. 
Dr. Hibben, President of Princeton University; 
New York State, President Nicholas Murray But- 
ler, Columbia University ; Rhode Island, President 
W. H. P. Faunce, Brown University. 

In the following States appointments are made 
by the chartered colleges and universities in rota- 
tion : California, University of California, Leland 
Stanford University, smaller colleges every seventh 
year; Vermont, University of Vermont, Middle- 
bury College. 

The purpose of Cecil Rhodes in establishing 
these scholarships for British colonists was to 
" instil into their minds the advantage to the 
Colonies as well as to the United Kingdom of the 
retention of the unity of the Empire." 

Americans are included in this scheme, not for the 
end of weaning them from their own institutions, 
but " in order to encourage and foster an appre- 
ciation of the advantages which I implicitly believe 

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Working One's Way Through College 

will result from the union of the English-speaking 
peoples throughout the world, and to encourage in 
the students of the United States of North America 
who will benefit from the scholarships, an attach- 
ment to the country from which they have sprung, 
but without, I hope, withdrawing them or their 
sympathies from the land of their adoption or 
birth." 

Fifteen scholarships are assigned to Germany, 
because " an understanding between the three great 
powers will render w r ar impossible, and educa- 
tional relations make the strongest ties." 

Any American youths, therefore, who gain the 
great advantage of Rhodes scholarships at Oxford 
not only may have great educational advantages 
without cost, but may become factors in interna- 
tional understanding, and agents of universal 
peace. 

The American Rhodes scholar at Oxford, having 
already obtained part of his education at home 
and being of relatively mature age, should not be 
in danger of being denationalized, but may con- 
tinue to be a good American and yet have a broad 
and sympathetic understanding of other nations. 

He also has the opportunity to give as well as 
receive, for the presence of so considerable a num- 
ber of students from the United States, from the 

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Working One's Way Through College 

British colonies, and from Germany at Oxford may 
help Oxford to a broader outlook and understand- 
ing of the rest of the world. 

At the beginning of the operation of Rhodes 
plans for Americans at Oxford there was some 
difficulty of adjustment on the part of the Ameri- 
cans, and in regard to their reception by the native 
youths. But the Rhodes scholarship students from 
America have now won for themselves acceptance 
and understanding. It is stated by an Oxford stu- 
dent who was not a Rhodes scholar that the 
" official Americans " at Oxford have made their 
reputation as good fellows and have also won 
laurels as athletes and scholars. The first clubs 
of the University — the Bullingdon, Vincents Club, 
etc., — have numbered Rhodes scholars among their 
most prominent and active members. A Princeton 
man won in 1909 his place on the victorious Ox- 
ford Rugby Fifteen. 

There will be from year to year an increasingly 
keen competition for these scholarships. Fortu- 
nate is the youth who obtains one of them. 

The spirit of the English universities is growing 
more democratic. An English workingman's son, 
who attended Oxford University, has asserted that 
according to his experience " class prejudice 
hardlv existed at all," in his own college. With 

[191] 



Working One's Way Through College 

few exceptions he was on the most friendly foot- 
ing with all the men of his own year and with most 
of the men next above and below him. He admitted 
that cliques exist, " but they are not formed on 
class lines." Writing in The Manchester Guardian, 
he states that he entered Oxford at the age of 
twenty-nine, after having taught in an elementary 
school. He relates his experience as below. He 
describes his first dinner in one of the halls of that 
great university : 

" Solid silver spoons and forks ! What wicked 
waste ! A clean napkin every night ! A four- or five- 
course dinner, and only once in my life had I expe- 
rienced an evening dinner. Truly I was a commoner ! 
Opposite sat a lord's son; by my side the son of a 
famous writer; near me were the descendants of his- 
torical families. I was poor, shy, nervous, sore in 
spirit, alone as I had never been before. It was a 
new world, and I was half afraid. As I returned 
alone through the shadowy quadrangle past the an- 
cient building up to my room I felt heartsick and 
miserable. Nor was the warm solitude of my room 
at first any antidote. It was full of ghosts. Famous 
men had lived in it — at least one great poet, one 
famous historian. Other rooms on the staircase had 
housed great statesmen, literary men, poets, thinkers. 
Why, then, was I here? Was it all a dream? Or 
was it really true that the old hard life was behind 
me, that I, too, was at last given the chance for 
which I had craved, for which so many better, more 

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Working One's Way Through College 

worthy men than I crave in vain down below there 
in the schools., the factories, the foundries? 

" .... I did n't understand servants ! It 
was so strange to have a man at one's beck and call. 
Nor did it seem right that I, who had always waited 
on myself, cleaned my boots, done odd jobs about the 
house, should have all these things done for me. But 
when at 7 :30 on my first morning at college the good 
man came into my bedroom, drew up the blind, poured 
cold water into the shallow bath, and said, ' Half- 
past seven, sir,' then, indeed, I was shocked! He 
evidently expected me to have a cold bath ; to sprinkle 
myself with icy water on that keen October morning 
— a most unheard-of proceeding ! A further sense 
of strangeness afflicted me in the possession of two 
rooms, a ' bedder ' and a * sitter,' the latter a large 
double-windowed room very comfortably furnished, 
and with the walls all panelled, not with oak but 
painted wood. There were no pictures — those I 
could provide if I wanted — and from one of the 
pile of advertisements received during the next few 
days I learned that pictures could be hired by the 
term. But having pictures was out of the question. 
By some oversight the college authorities had omitted 
to notify me that I must provide my own table linen, 
cutlery, etc 

" Is it necessary to say that such expenditure 
caused me the greatest of all my discomforts? Dur- 
ing the first few days I was maddened by the way 
in which ' freshmen * were throwing money about. 
Pictures, cushions, fancy articles, pipes, clothing, 
baths, books, wines, tobacco, cigarettes — to say 

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Working Ones Way Through College 

nothing of the linen and cutlery — were all being 
bought in huge quantities at fancy prices. To me, 
whose purse had always been . but poorly furnished, 
whose career nine years ago at a day training-college 
had been a time of poverty so great that frequently 
two meals a day had to suffice; that for a week at a 
time I was absolutely penniless; that for Saturday 
night after Saturday night I was glad to earn four 
shillings for playing the piano in a certain little pub- 
lic-house ; — to me this lavish expenditure 
seemed at first not merely unnecessary, but criminal." 

He then began to form social connections, and 
he writes of that phase of Oxford life : 

" ' It was very good of you to come. You know I 
sometimes feel that men like me are not fit to talk 
to men like you. You have worked hard and strug- 
gled upward, and we 've done just nothing except 
spend money we never earned, mostly on pleasures 
and dissipations.' This was said quietly, simply, and, 
I believe, sincerely as I was leaving a student's room, 
after having eaten the largest and most costly break- 
fast I had ever enjoyed. He was the son of an ex- 
tremely wealthy man; he had a princely allowance 
from his father ; he came from a famous public school. 
And in spite of my forcible interjection of the word 
' Rubbish ! ' in spite of the little argument I could 
bring to bear on his statement, he was evidently de- 
pressed by reflection on his own idleness and wealth. 
Nor was this the only occasion on which men like him 
have said the same sort of thing to or about me. In 
fact, I have been amused, astounded, even provoked 

[ 194] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

to find that in my own college were men who gave 
me a sort of halo, and approached me with the 
diffidence I confess I had felt toward them, mere- 
ly because I was supposed to be ' a real live work- 
ingman who had seen life, and had struggled up to 
Oxford just as the story-book young man does/ 
One modest youth, expressing to a friend of mine 
his desire, to know me, said: 'But I don't suppose 
he '11 care to talk to me. I 'm so ignorant of 
things/ 

" Thus before long I was actually being sought as 
the man who knew a good deal at first hand of social 
problems and the life of the poor. At debating socie- 
ties I was soon embarrassingly in request, for a char- 
acteristic of Oxford to-day is the extraordinary 
interest taken in all sorts of social questions — un- 
employment, poverty, housing, education, the right to 
work, slum life, conditions of labor, sweated indus- 
tries. Such subjects have occupied a very large pro- 
portion of the debates, both at the Union and at the 
various college societies. It was this keen interest in 
social reforms which first showed me my greatest mis- 
conception with regard to the ' upper classes/ Like 
most loyal members of the proletariat, I had preached 
of the callousness, the indifference, of the rich to the 
sufferings of the poor. I had honestly believed that 
the rich were more responsible for. the evils of pov- 
erty and unemployment, rack-renting and sweated 
labor. But now that I was thrown among these 
ravening beasts like a slave among wolves for their 
delectation, I found that quite a large number of 
these wolves were watch-dogs." 

[195] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Merrick Whitcomb says : 

" Guglielrno Ferrero, in commenting on the strug- 
gle of the middle classes against the aristocracy in 
England, as exemplified in the proposed limitation of 
the powers of the House of Lords, has suggested that 
the reason why the aristocracy has monopolized pub- 
lic life in England is largely due to the higher cost of 
education, which put it beyond the reach of the mid- 
dle classes. The secondary schools and universities 
have been expensive, and only the aristocracy of 
blood or money has been able to educate its sons for 
Parliament. A Parliamentary form of government 
demands men of high culture, legal and philosoph- 
ical. The ministers of an absolute monarchy may be 
unable to write or to speak effectively, but this is 
impossible in Governments of the new type. 

" The school reform in England, the cheapening 
of higher education, is putting power into the hands 
of the middle classes, as it has done in the nineteenth 
century on the continent of Europe, where the middle 
classes now control the Governments." 

The Registrar of Cambridge University, Eng- 
land, wrote me : 

" Quite a fair number of students help themselves 
through their college course by teaching, either pri- 
vately or as tutors in Cambridge, and by taking tutor- 
ships in the vacations. We have no fund or 
committee to assist such students; but many colleges 
give assistance quite privately to such students as 
are in need of it, and all colleges offer scholarships 

[196] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and exhibitions yearly, varying in value from eighty 
pounds to twenty-five pounds per annum. Some of 
these are confined to students who cannot otherwise 
obtain a university education. There are seventeen 
colleges and one public hostel, and each institution 
offers about seven or eight scholarships yearly. Fur- 
ther, there are many exhibitions open only to mem- 
bers of particular schools." 

" The Student's Handbook," as in the case of 
Oxford, should be obtained and consulted by any 
who are especially interested in details in regard to 
Cambridge. 

The University of London states that there is 
no special fund set aside for the help of students, 
nor does it have a committee of self-help, but it 
offers a considerable number of scholarships, stu- 
dentships, exhibitions, and prizes. There are also 
conditional reductions of fees. It is possible at 
this university to work during the day at any em- 
ployment in the city and to take evening courses. 
The University of London is a growingly impor- 
tant institution ; and any who are interested should 
apply for information to the separate schools and 
institutions for details. 

The University of Berlin writes : 

" At this university there has always existed the 
following arrangement, that every one who wishes to 

[197] 



Working One's Way Through College 

establish a theological student should post the an- 
nouncement on the black board. In this manner it 
is possible for many students to gain an occupation 
or livelihood. 

" For several years, the so-called free scholarships 
have offered special aid to students, with very good 
results. On the part of the university such an oppor- 
tunity is not offered; the students themselves have 
brought about this order of things. 

" The university, however, has in trust a large 
number of endowments from which the students de- 
rive extra benefits. These amount to two hundred 
thousand marks annually. Four of these endowments 
consist in houses, in which students can secure lodg- 
ings, heat, and light free, or at a very slight cost. 
The conditions are mostly testamentary (by will). 
Birth, home, literary pursuit, and religion are the 
main thing." 

As giving further light upon conditions in Ger- 
many, this letter from Professor William Hittell 
Sherzer of Ypsilanti is quoted. He writes me: 

"January 12, 1911. 
" It is now ten years since I spent a year in Ber- 
lin, studying at the University there, and conditions 
have probably changed during that time. One of my 
colleagues has been there more recently, and tells 
me that board, room, heat, and lighting may be ob- 
tained for about thirty-five dollars a month. It was 
less than this when I was there, and my sister lived 
upon less than half of this, but she was especially 

[198] 



Working One's Way Through College 

fortunate in getting into a ' home ' for women in 
which the expense was very near cost. 

" For each course elected there is a small fee, 
which would probably total less than thirty-five dol- 
lars, and a small matriculation fee. The cost for 
books would be less than in any American college. 

" At Jena, one of my colleagues places the cost of 
living at about twenty-five to thirty dollars a month 
and places the fees at about forty dollars a year. At 
Munich it runs higher, the monthly living expense 
being placed at fifty dollars to seventy-five dollars, 
and fees about thirty dollars. 

" In order to study abroad one should have his 
Bachelor's degree from some reputable institution, 
especially if he wishes to become a candidate for a 
higher degree. Then I believe that he could live 
abroad more cheaply than in any of the better insti- 
tutions in this country, and although the work itself 
might not be any more valuable he is greatly broad- 
ened by such foreign residence, gains a mastery of 
the language, has an opportunity for some remark- 
ably cheap side trips during vacations, and finds that 
he is credited with knowing a great deal more about 
his specialty, whether he actually does or not. 

" Help is so cheap abroad that it would not be 
wise for any American student to attempt to earn 
his way over there unless it were by some such scheme 
as correspondent for home papers, or perhaps teach- 
ing English." 

The Registrar of the University of Vienna 
writes : " The reestablishing of an oversight of the 

[199] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Vienna University in behalf of the Welfare insti- 
tutions and Self-Hclp arrangements are in prog- 
ress, and a report will appear in print by the end 
of 1911." 

The following paragraphs in regard to German 
universities are of especial interest to women stu- 
dents who may contemplate work in the institutions 
dealt with. 

Merrick Whitcomb says : 

' Women students in German universities have had 
a difficult time, first, to be admitted, and, second, to 
secure attention from the professors. The governing 
bodies of the German universities have shown great 
reluctance in admitting women to their privileges. 
This is partly due to the tradition of separate educa- 
tion for the sexes, and also to the exclusion of women 
from the professions, which made a university educa- 
tion comparatively purposeless. In time, however, 
the movement for the higher education and greater 
freedom of women reached Germany. The first ad- 
vance was met with uncompromising opposition, and 
a long and weary struggle ensued. Learned profes- 
sors wrote volumes to prove the exceptional organism 
and the general incompetency of women, but in spite 
of that the women persevered. The main difficulty 
lay in the local independence of the universities ; they 
are controlled by the State, but it is traditional that 
they should regulate their own internal affairs. 

" In 1890 the Teachers' Association of Gottingen 
induced some of the professors in the local university 

[200] 



Working One's Way Through College 

to give them a special two-year course of lectures. 
The number of women attending these courses in- 
creased rapidly, and other professors volunteered 
their aid. The Prussian Ministry took an interest in 
the matter, and a State examination was instituted, 
based upon a two-year course of study. The national 
antipathy to co-education was gradually broken 
down, and in time women were admitted as ' hearers ' 
to all universities. At one university a professor 
obtained permission for an exceptionally gifted 
woman to be admitted to the Ph. D. examination. 
This was an entering wedge. 

" A great obstacle in the way of opening courses 
to women was the fact that secondary schools did 
not give courses to prepare women for entrance to 
university work. The Allgemeiner Deutscher Frau- 
enverein came forward and founded a gymnasium 
for girls, which enabled them to acquire their matu- 
ritdt. The large number of women who came to the 
universities were still not allowed to matriculate, but 
were classed as ' hearers.' Finally, at the close of 
1899, the Grand Duke of Baden, who is perpetual 
president of all universities in the Grand Duchy, is- 
sued a decree allowing all women who presented 
proper maturitdt certificates to be allowed to matricu- 
late. Bavaria followed in 1903-04; Wiirtemberg in 
1904; Saxony in 1906; Weimar-Eisenach in 1907; 
Prussia and Hesse in 1908-09; and Mecklenburg in 
1909-10. 

" The number of women students is steadily in- 
creasing. The winter session of 1909-10 showed 
1,856 students against 1,108 in the previous academic 

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year. Philosophy and philology attract the greater 
number, — 975 ; medicine, 476 ; mathematics and sci- 
ence, 287; law, 30; and Protestant theology, 5. In 
some States law and theology are still closed to 
women. The University of Berlin has drawn the 
greater number, 632, although there the opposition 
to the admission of women has been most strenuous. 
Some of the Berlin professors are not yet reconciled, 
and refuse to admit women to their classes, even 
when fully matriculated in the university. 

' The Emperor's prize, the most coveted distinc- 
tion of the University of Berlin, has been won, in 
1911, for the first time by a woman. This shows how 
rapidly women have been winning their way in aca- 
demic life in Germany; for but little time has elapsed 
since they were permitted to compete with men in the 
arena of higher education." 

The Royal Frederic University at Christiania 
states through its Secretary: 

" I beg to inform you that the lectures at our uni- 
versity are public, with free admission to all. To 
obtain the right to work in the various institutes and 
laboratories connected with the university, a charge 
of from five to twenty kroner per half-yearly term is 
made. This fee may, however, on application, be re- 
mitted to students in straitened circumstances. 

"The total number of students is, at the present 
time, about fifteen hundred. 

1 In the course of time, the university has been 
endowed with several scholarships for the assistance 
of students; the total sum of such endowments 

[ 202 J 



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amounts to somewhat more than a half-million kroner, 
and the interest is apportioned in bounties of from 
fifty to two hundred and fifty kroner per half-yearly 
term, to deserving and needy students. 

" Independent of the university, the students have 
their own Benefit Society, which grants to impecuni- 
ous students loans, free of interest during the time 
such students are pursuing their studies at the uni- 
versity. 

" Another society has for its aim the procuring of 
work for students during the vacations, such as farm 
work, etc., whereby they are able to earn a small wage 
and at the same time obtain beneficial recreation. 
While studying at the university a great many of our 
students earn money by school-teaching, office work, 
etc. 

" In later years a few students have sought employ- 
ment during the vacations as guides, porters, inter- 
preters, etc., at the various tourist hotels." 

The University of Geneva states through its 
Secretary : 

" I have the honor to inform you that it is not an 
easy thing for foreign students to procure work in 
Geneva. Native students can obtain their lessons, 
especially French lessons. Nowhere does there exist 
a committee of students which makes it its duty to 
find work; but there is a Mutual Aid Society, where 
the members come to each other's help. There is a 
committee of patrons for foreign students, composed 
of professors and persons interested in the university. 
At all times they are ready to find lodgings for foreign 

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students, and when possible make living easy for 
them in Geneva. I will add that to live in Geneva 
will cost from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
francs for lodging and board, without counting 
tuition." 

There are several prizes at Geneva. The fees 
are all moderate. 

Still another part of the world reports through 
the Registrar of the University of Sydney, New 
South Wales : 

" I beg to inform you that there is no self-help 
committee for the aid of students in this university. 
Many of the students are engaged in teaching work 
in their spare time; some in literary work, and some 
in clerical work, but there is no systematic organiza- 
tion in the university for finding work for the students. 
There are a number of scholarships of the value of 
fifty pounds and upwards which are awarded to 
students annually. These are given on the result of 
competitive examinations in the various departments 
of the university. There are also a number of bur- 
saries, which vary from twenty-five pounds to fifty 
pounds a year, and are generally tenable for three 
years, and which carry with them the remission of 
fees in the Faculty of Arts or that of Pure Science. 
Two are tenable for five years in the medical school. 
These are awarded after enquiry into the financial 
circumstances of the applicants. The amount annu- 
ally distributed in scholarships and bursaries is about 
three thousand five hundred pounds." 

f 204 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The large and elaborate " Calendar " or cata- 
logue of this university gives interesting details 
as to the scholarships, bursaries, etc., in addition 
to its other matter. 

Miss Janet M. Johnstone of the Japan Mission 
of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. wrote 
from Kanazawa: 

' There are many ways in which students work 
their way through schools and colleges in this land. 
I am working in a Girls' Higher School, and in this 
school we have always a few pupils whom we help. 
While in school, these pupils help us in various ways, 
write letters for us, teach in the lower grades, work 
in Sunday Schools, etc. But where we get the real 
return for what we do for them is in their work after 
graduation. Every girl who is helped promises to 
work for us for at least two years after she graduates, 
and during that time she is supposed to work for a 
comparatively small salary in order to pay back at 
least part of what she has received. 

" This plan of working after graduation is very 
popular in Japan. The Government schools use it to 
their great advantage, as in this way they secure good 
teachers, who are bound to teach just where they are 
sent, for a number of years. In some cases the 
promise is for five years. 

" In many Industrial Schools girls earn their way 
by embroidering. Long ago the students here did 
that, but the teachers decided that that work was too 
hard on the students when they were taking such & 

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Working Ones Way Through College 

wide course of study as we have in our school. 
Japanese girls are not strong, and are likely to break 
down if they do not have sufficient time for recreation. 

" Girls often earn their board by acting as a kind 
of evening governess in a home. The children go to 
school, and this governess helps them with their 
studies at night. Other girls help in houses in other 
ways just as girls in America do. 

" Young men often act as secretaries out of school 
hours. People in Japan are very glad to help a young 
man get an education; so comparatively poor people 
often take in a student and give him his board, with 
the understanding that he helps in any way he can, 
acting as tutor for the children, writing letters, going 
on errands, etc. One young man I know teaches in a 
night school and thus earns his way. Many young 
men get up early and deliver milk, newspapers, etc., 
and thus earn something. 

" Both young men and young women teach and 
study at the same time, just as they do in America. 

" This land is full of struggling students, and their 
efforts at self-help are certainly inspiring." 

Dr. D. B. Schueder, president North Japan Col- 
lege, Sendai, Japan, wrote : 

" In connection with North Japan College we have 
what we call an Industrial Home. It consists of a 
dormitory, a printing establishment, a dairy, and a 
laundry. About fifty North Japan College students 
live in this dormitory rent-free and buy their own food 
and have a cook to prepare it for them. Then they 
work three hours a day, some at printing, some at 

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Working One's Way Through College 

milk-carrying (the milk is carried around in cans), 
some at laundering, some at newspaper-carrying, and 
some at peddling soy, a kind of sauce that is uni- 
versally used in Japanese cooking. Especially the 
newspaper-carriers have to get up very early, most 
of them as early as three o'clock in the morning. The 
milk-carriers also have to be up very early. They go 
in straw sandals summer and winter; and in wet or 
snowy weather their feet of course get wet. They 
live in a very poor dormitory also. They make about 
half their expenses. Their average standing in 
scholarship is somewhat higher than the average of 
those that have no such work. Moreover in character 
they are considerably better. Most of them turn out 
well after graduation. The Home has now been run- 
ning for nearly twenty years. 

" The average expenses of a student in our insti- 
tution are about five or six dollars per month, includ- 
ing one dollar for tuition. Our Industrial Home 
emphasizes the honorableness of work, and many 
students in other schools have learned to follow the 
example of our school in this respect. The city of 
Sendai is the largest city in Japan north of Tokyo. 
It has about 150,000 inhabitants, and has a large 
number of schools. It is the student centre of the 
north." 

T. Ochiai, of Okayama, Japan, wrote me : 

" I must say that it is very hard to help oneself 
through college here. We have here the Sixth 
National College, which is one of the eight Govern- 
ment schools in Japan. This ranks between the three 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Imperial universities and about three hundred middle 
schools. There may be in this Sixth National College 
some five or six out of six hundred students who help 
themselves. I know three of them. One student is 
a helper in the Reform School for youngsters (a 
private institution). Another works in an M. P.'s 
home, helping in secretarial duties. Another coaches 
a gentleman's son in his studies. 

4 The hours of these students' work are not very 
regular. Of course, they attend school from 8 A. M. 
to 2 P. M. ; their labors are in their spare hours. They 
thus get their board and room, to the great relief of 
themselves and their parents, who are poor farmers 
or lowest officers. Last year there was one student 
who worked in delivering milk in early mornings. 

" In Tokyo, students can find more opportunities 
in such lines, but they can never find such means as to 
help themselves entirely. 

"This is our educational system: Elementary 
schools, 6 years; Middle schools, 5 years; 8 National 
colleges, 3 years; three Imperial Universities, 3 to 4 
years; University Hall, 5 years." 

Mr. Frank Carpenter, the journalist, says in re- 
gard to the American College in Egypt at Assiout : 

" It is full to overflowing, and notwithstanding the 
new structure just completed, it needs more money and 
more buildings. It has a great prestige throughout 
the Nile Valley, and the efficiency, with a little money, 
could be easily doubled. The college is said to give a 
better education than the government institutions, and 

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Working One's Way Through College 

that at the lowest possible cost. The tuition is 
nominal. 

" For the poorest scholars the tuition is only about 
one dollar a session in money, and the ordinary rate is 
about ten dollars a year. The cost of the education 
varies with the taste of the students. These are of all 
classes, from the sons of the poorest fellah to the 
highest pasha and richest merchant of the Nile Valley. 

" There are three kinds of accommodations, the cost 
of which ranges from thirty-five dollars a year up- 
ward. The wealthy Egyptian boy can have his own 
room, or he can live four in a room. He can have a 
good table, or, at less cost, can be boarded so that he 
has meat three or four times a week. On the other 
hand, he can work his way through college, bringing 
his own food and buying vegetables and fish at very 
low cost. Many of the boys bring their bread from 
home. It is made of ground corn or millet, and baked 
in cakes an inch thick. These cakes are toasted until 
they are as hard as stone, in which shape they will 
keep through the term. Before going in to a meal the 
students dip their bread in buckets of water set out 
for the purpose, and when soft carry it with them to 
the table." 

S. R. Steinmerk, Secretary to the University 
Senate and Professor of Ethnology in the Univer- 
sity of Amsterdam, wrote me : 

" As a rule university students in Holland belong 
to the more or less well-to-do classes; really poor 
ones, that would be obliged to earn their living during 

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Working One's Way Through College 

their scholarship, there are none. Some, whose 
pecuniary circumstances are rather bad, earn some- 
thing by giving lessons, but the cases are very few; 
their earnings are little, and there is no committee 
whatever to help them in finding work. Still there 
are means to make the university attainable for poor 
but talented young men. Some who lack means for 
acquitted of paying their college fees, others are 
assisted to some extent by the ' Universiteits Vereenig- 
ing,' a committee that has the object, among other 
things, to succor poor students. Still others get sti- 
pends to a greater or smaller amount from the town, 
or out of private funds ; but working one's way 
through college is an unknown thing to us. It may be 
that some one or other among our students do so, 
but then the cases are so very few that they do not 
count." 



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CHAPTER XVIII 

COST OF TUITION AND OTHER 
EXPENSES AT VARIOUS COLLEGES 

At the Armour Institute boys and girls and men 
and women are given an opportunity to gain an edu- 
cation, while earning a living. Indeed there is not a 
great business house in Chicago that does not have 
" Armour Institute boys " on its pay roll, sons of men 
who work in Packingtown. One such boy I know, 
who now receives a salary of ten thousand dollars a 
year. — Elbert Hubbard. 

IT is perhaps not possible to give more than an 
approximate statement as to what the cost of 
a college education may be. It is a simple matter 
to find out what the tuition and other fees are at 
any given institution, and to ascertain what lodg- 
ing and board cost in various communities. 

Individual habits count. Some persons are 
trained to consider the value of pennies and never 
spend a cent without considering the necessity of 
the expenditure. They will walk to save a nickel 
car-fare; they do without many things deemed 
essential by others ; they bargain carefully ; 

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Working One's Way Through College 

they take care of clothing and books when these 
have been purchased. Others are always spending; 
they cannot see a thing without feeling that they 
must have it. 

The estimates of expenses at college cannot in 
general include railroad fares, clothing, and such 
matters. One must therefore make his own cal- 
culations according to his situation. 

Tuition at various institutions ranges from noth- 
ing, as at many State colleges and theological 
schools, through $16 at Atlanta University, for 
colored persons; $11 at Brigham Young College; 
$20 at Alabama Polytechnical Institute; $18 at 
Maryville; $30, $40, $50 at many institutions; 
$100 at Lafayette, Lake Erie, etc. ; $125 at Mount 
Holyoke, Boston University, etc. ; $150 at Johns 
Hopkins, Princeton, Yale, Harvard; $200 at Rad- 
cliffe, Bryn Mawr; $250 at Massachusetts Techni- 
cal Institute. 

Fees range from none through $8 and $10 up to 
$220. These higher fees include different depart- 
ments of the university; for instance, in taking 
specialties in several departments there are fees 
to be paid in each department. 

Living expenses — lodging, board, fuel, and 
light — range according to the community where 
the college is located. At certain colleges these 

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Working One's Way Through College 

are estimated at $72, as at Maryville; $85 to 
$100 at Berea; at various colleges, $100, $125, 
$150, $175, $200 ; at Yale $345 ; at Harvard $200 
up ; Haverford $300 to $350 ; at Radcliffe $350 
to $500. 

In a simple village community, the living for a 
smaller amount of money may be practically as 
good as at greater expense in a larger place. 

The general experience is that expenses are 
larger, and not less, than estimated. It is advis- 
able therefore to prepare to go as far beyond that 
estimate as one can. It is safe to say that at Har- 
vard, for instance, one should aim to have in sight, 
or be prepared to earn, at least $550 yearly, not 
counting clothing and railway fares. At Berea one 
would better count on $250. At Oberlin it will be 
well to have $300. So with the others. 

We give in this chapter a reference list, supplied 
by the various universities and colleges, of the an- 
nual cost of tuition ; of board, room, etc. ; of fees, 
books, etc. The prospective student will find it 
convenient and serviceable in selecting his college. 

Adelphi College, tuition, yearly, $180; board, 
room, etc., $250 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., 
$20. 

Adrian College, tuition, yearly, $70 ; board, room, 
etc., $145 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 

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Agricultural and Mechanical College, Texas, no 

tuition fees; board, room, etc., $150; fees, 

books, etc., $83. 
Alabama Polytechnic Institute, free to State 

residents ; board, room, etc., $134 ; fees, books, 

etc., $50. 
Albion College, tuition, yearly, $40 ; board, room, 

etc., $130-170; fees, books, etc., $25-35. 
Albright College, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, 

room, etc., $165; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Alcorn A. & M. College, tuition, yearly, $15 ; 

board, room, etc., $55 ; fees, books, etc., . 

Alfred University, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $250-300; fees, books, etc., $60-75. 
Allegheny College, tuition, yearly, $75 ; board, 

room, etc., $300-500; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Alma College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, room, 

etc., $170; fees, books, etc., $25. 
American University, Tenn., tuition, yearly, $50 ; 

board, room, etc., $100; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Amherst College, tuition, yearly, $140 ; board, 

room, etc., $350-600; fees, books, etc., . 

Antioch College, tuition, yearly, $30 ; board, 

room, etc., $108 ; fees, books, etc., $24. 
Ashland University, tuition, yearly, $33.50 ; 

board, room, etc., $123 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Atlanta University, tuition, yearly, $20; board, 

room, etc., $100; fees, books, etc., . 

Auburn Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $170; fees, books, etc., 

none. 
Augustana College, tuition, yearly, $36; board, 

room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Baker University, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $180-300; fees, books, etc., $10-25. 
Barnard College (women), tuition, yearly, $150; 

board, room, etc., $365 (minimum) ; fees, 

books, etc., $12. 
Beloit College, tuition, yearly, $80; board, room, 

etc., $240 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., $30. 
Bellevue College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $154; fees, books, etc., $11-21. 
Benedict College, tuition, yearly, $8 ; board, room, 

etc., $80; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Bethany College, Kansas, tuition, yearly, $36- 

120 ; board, room, etc., $105 ; fees, books, etc., 



Blackburn College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 
room, etc., $250; fees, books, etc., $10-25. 

Boston University, tuition, yearly, $130; board, 
room, etc., $200 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., 
$25 (minimum). 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Bowdoin College, tuition, yearly, $75 ; board, 

room, etc., $175 ; fees, books, etc., $100. 
Brigham Young College, tuition, yearly, $11; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Brown University, tuition, yearly, $153 ; board, 

room, etc., $300 ; fees, books, etc., $100-200. 
Bryn Mawr College, tuition, yearly, $20-200; 

board, room, etc., $100-200; fees, books, etc., 

$15. 
Bucknell University, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $174; fees, books, etc., $26. 
Butler College, tuition, yearly, $48 ; board, room, 

etc., $180; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Carnegie Technical School, tuition, yearly, $5-20 ; 

board, room, etc., $220 (minimum) ; fees, 

books, etc., $35-50. 
Carroll College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, room, 

etc., $175 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., $10-15. 
Carson and Newman College, tuition, yearly, $30- 

40; board, room, etc., $80-130; fees, books, 

etc., $10-25. 
Case School of Applied Science, tuition, yearly, 

$100 ; board, room, etc., $190-228 ; fees, books, 

etc., $35. 
Catawba College, tuition, yearly, $45; board, 

room, etc., $125; fees, books, etc., $10-15. 
Catholic University of America, tuition, yearly, 

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Working One's Way Through College 

$75; board, room, etc., $225-250; fees, books, 

etc., $20. 
Cedarville College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $162 ; fees, books, etc., $28. 
Central University of Iowa, tuition, yearly, $40- 

45; board, room, etc., $150-200; fees, books, 

etc., $10-20. 
Central Wesleyan College, tuition, yearly, $36- 

44; board, room, etc., $117-126; fees, books, 

etc., $20. 
Charles City College, tuition, yearly, $38; board, 

room, etc., $218; fees, books, etc., $16. 
Charleston College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 

room, etc., $108; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Christian Brothers College, Mo., tuition, yearly, 

$50; board, room, etc., $300; fees, books, etc., 

$5. 
Claflin University, co-ed., tuition, yearly, $20; 

board, room, etc., $75 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Clark College, Mass., tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $150-200 ; fees, books, etc., $15-20. 
Clark University, Mass., tuition, yearly, $100 ; 

board, room, etc., $200 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., $35. 
Clarkson Technical School, tuition, yearly, $100; 

board, room, etc., $156-180; fees, books, etc., 

$40-50. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Clcmson Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, $40 

(remitted to such as cannot afford to pay); 

board, room, etc., $118; fees, books, etc., $18. 
Coe College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, room, 

etc., $153; fees, books, etc., $22. 
Colgate University, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 

room, etc., $250; fees, books, etc., $50. 
College of City of New York, tuition, yearly, free 

to State residents; board, room, etc., ; 

fees, books, etc., . 

Colorado Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $300; fees, books, etc., 

$35. 
Colorado College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $160-200; fees, books, etc., $40. 
Colorado School of Mines, tuition, yearly, $150 

(free to State residents); board, room, etc., 

$275 ; fees, books, etc., $100. 
Columbia University, tuition, yearly, $150-250; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $75. 
Concordia College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 

room, etc., $84 ; fees, books, etc., $30. 
Connecticut Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, 

none ; board, room, etc., $144 ; fees, books, etc., 

$60. 
Cornell College, Iowa, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $135-200; fees, books, etc., $15-30. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Cornell University, N. Y., tuition, yearly, free 

to $150; board, room, etc., $300-500; fees, 

books, etc., $25-75. 
Cotner University, tuition, yearly, $36 ; board, 

room, etc., $200 ; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Creighton University, tuition, yearly, classical 

department, free; other departments, average 

$80; board, room, etc., $175; fees, books, etc., 

$10 (minimum). 
Dakota Wesleyan University, tuition, yearly, $40 ; 

board, room, etc., $140; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Dartmouth College, tuition, yearly, $125; board, 

room, etc., $175-260; fees, books, etc., $60- 

150. 
Davidson College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 

room, etc., $105-240; fees, books, etc., $25-40. 
Delaware College, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, 

room, etc., $175-275; fees, books, etc., $75- 

100. 
Denison University, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $150 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., 

$75. 
De Pauw University, tuition, yearly, $55 ; board, 

room, etc., $180-234; fees, books, etc., $25- 

50. 
Des Moines College, tuition, yearly, $48; board, 

room, etc., $250; fees, books, etc., $50. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Dickinson College, tuition, yearly, ; board, 

room, etc., $275 ; fees, books, etc., $35. 
Doane College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, room, 

etc., $123; fees, books, etc., $18. 
Drake University, tuition, yearly, $90 (minimum) ; 

board, room, etc., $150 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., . 

Drew Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $120 ; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Drury College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, room, 

etc., $175; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Earlham College, tuition, yearly, $77 ; board, 

room, etc., $173; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Eastern College, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, 

room, etc., $100; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Elmira College (women), tuition, yearly, $150; 

board, room, etc., $275 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Elon College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, room, 

etc., $110-125; fees, books, etc., $35-40. 
Emory College, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, room, 

etc., $108-180; fees, books, etc., $15-20. 
Emporia College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $145-250; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Erskine College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, room, 

etc., $95-135; fees, books, etc., $30. 
Ewing College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $125 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Fairmount College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $250 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Findlay College, tuition, yearly, $38 ; board, 

room, etc., $115; fees, books, etc., $6-15. 
Fisk University, tuition, yearly, $17; board, 

room, etc., $100 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Franklin College, Indiana, tuition, yearly, $63 ; 

board, room, etc., $175 ; fees, books, etc., 

$25. 
Franklin College, Ohio, tuition, yearly, $45 ; 

board, room, etc., $160; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Franklin and Marshall College, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $175; fees, books, etc., 

$50. 
General Theological Seminary, P. E., tuition, 

yearly, none; board, room, etc., $225; fees, 

books, etc., . 

George Washington University, tuition, yearly, 

$150; board, room, etc., $200-350; fees, books, 

etc., $7-57. 
Georgetown College, tuition, yearly, $45 ; board, 

room, etc., $130-180; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Georgetown University, D. C, tuition, yearly, 

$100-150; board, room, etc., $250-650; fees, 

books, etc., $42. 
Goucher College, tuition, yearly, $150; board, 

room, etc., $300; fees, books, etc., none. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Grand Island College, tuition, yearly, $36 ; board, 

room, etc., $113; fees, books, etc., $27. 
Greensboro Female College, tuition, yearly, $75 ; 

board, room, etc., $140; fees, books, etc., $10- 

15. 
Greer College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, room, 

etc., $160; fees, books, etc., $10. 
Grinnell College, tuition, yearly, $70,; board, 

room, etc., $186; fees, books, etc., $35. 
Grove City College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 

room, etc., $125-180 ; fees, books, etc., $35. 
Guilford College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 

room, etc., $135; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Gustavus Adolphus College, tuition, yearly, $32; 

board, room, etc., $207-261 ; fees, books, etc., 

$26. 
Hamilton College, tuition, yearly, $90; board, 

room, etc., $400-500; fees, books, etc., $40. 
Hampden Sidney College, tuition, yearly, $50; 

board, room, etc., $250 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., . 

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, 

tuition, yearly, $100; board, room, etc., $132; 

fees, books, etc., $6. 
Harvard University, tuition, yearly, $150; board, 

room, etc., $200 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., 

$25 (minimum). 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Hastings College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $145 ; fees, books, etc., $12. 
Haverford College, tuition, yearly, $150 ; board, 

room, etc., $268; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Heidelberg University, tuition, yearly, $60 ; 

board, room, etc., $125 ; fees, books, etc., $10- 

25. 
Henderson College, tuition, yearly, ; board, 

room, etc., $175-210; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Highland College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 

room, etc., $150-200; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Hillsdale College, tuition, yearly, $27; board, 

room, etc., $75-150; fees, books, etc., $30-75. 
Hiram College, tuition, yearly, $48 ; board, room, 

etc., $150-190; fees, books, etc., $5-20. 
Hiwassee College, tuition, yearly, $20; board, 

room, etc., $98; fees, books, etc., $12. 
Hobart College, tuition, yearly, $100; board, 

room, etc., $150-200; fees, books, etc., $40-50. 
Holy Cross College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 

room, etc., $300; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Hope College, tuition, yearly, $24 ; board, room, 

etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Howard University, D. C, tuition, ; board, 

room, etc., $125 ; fees, book, etc., $20-30. 
Howard Payne College, tuition, yearly, $66 ; 

board, room, etc., $175 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Illinois College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, room, 

etc., $110-225; fees, books, etc., $10-20. 
Illinois State Normal University, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $114-180; fees, books, 

etc., $20. 
Indiana University, tuition, yearly, none; board, 

room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., . 

Iowa State College, tuition, yearly, free to State 

residents ; board, room, etc., $300-350 ; fees, 

books, etc., . 

Iowa Wesleyan University, tuition, yearly, $45; 

board, room, etc., $144; fees, books, etc., $15- 

20. 
James Millikin University, tuition, yearly, $40; 

board, room, etc., $300-400 ; fees, books, . 

Johns Hopkins University, tuition, yearly, $150- 

200 ; board, room, etc., $180 ; fees, books, etc., 

$30 (minimum). 
Juniata College, tuition, yearly, $57 ; board, room, 

etc., $156; fees, books, etc., $10-25. 
Kalamazoo College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $175; fees, books, etc., $15-20. 
Kansas State Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, 

$9; board, room, etc., $160; fees, books, etc., 

$12. 
Kentucky Wesleyan College, tuition, yearly, $50; 

board, room, etc., $105; fees, books, etc., $20; 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Kenjon College, tuition, yearly, $75 ; board, room, 

etc., $175-300; fees, books, etc., $35. 
Keuka College, tuition, yearly, $45 ; board, room, 

etc., $126; fees, books, etc., $27. 
Knoxville College, tuition, yearly, $7 ; board, 

room, etc., $75 ; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Lafayette College, tuition, yearly, $100; board, 

room, etc., $224; fees, books, etc., $66. 
Lake Forest College, tuition, yearly, $67 ; board, 

room, etc., $183-300; fees, books, etc., $15-25. 
Lander College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 

room, etc., $140; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Lane Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Lawrence University, tuition, yearly, $46 ; board, 

room, etc., $144; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Leander Clark College, tuition, yearly, $40 ; 

board, room, etc., $140-190; fees, books, etc., 

$20-40. 
Lebanon Valley College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; 

board, room, etc., $160-180 ; fees, books, etc., 

$29. 
Lehigh University, tuition, yearly, $100-200 ; 

board, room, $250-350 ; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Leland Stanford Jr. University, tuition, yearly, 

free to undergraduates ; board, room, etc., 

$180-270; fees, books, etc., $25-75. 

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Lenox College, tuition, yearly, $30-45; board, 

room, etc., $144; fees, books, etc., $25-35. 
Liberty College, tuition, yearly, $205; board, 

room, etc., $155 ; fees, books, etc., $35. 
Lincoln College, tuition, yearly, $36 ; board, room, 

etc., $180; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Lincoln University, tuition, yearly, $25 ; board, 

room, etc., $94; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Lombard College, tuition, yearly, $37 ; board, 

room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Louisiana State University, tuition, yearly, free 

to State residents; board, room, etc., $126; 

fees, books, etc., $15-55. 
Macalester College, tuition, yearly, $47; board, 

room, etc., $120-162; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Manhattan College, tuition, yearly, $75-100; 

board, room, etc., $250; fees, books, etc., $10- 

30. 
Marietta College, tuition, yearly, $75; board, 

room, etc., $130; fees, books, etc., $25-40. 
Maryland Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, 

$240 ; living included in tuition charges. 
Maryville College, tuition, yearly, $18; board, 

room, etc., $85 ; fees, books, etc., $8. 
Massachusetts Agricultural College, tuition, 

yearly, ; board, room, etc., $200; fees, 

books, etc., $25-40. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology; tuition, 

yearly, $250; board, room, etc., ; fees, 

books, etc., $25-50. 
McCormick Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $225; fees, books, etc., 

$40-50. 
McKendree College, tuition, yearly, $45 ; board, 

room, etc., $108-180; fees, books, etc., $15- 

25. 
McMinnville College, tuition, yearly, $51 ; board, 

room, etc., $120-200 ; fees, books, etc., $25-50. 
Miami University, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $110-255; fees, books, etc., $15-25. 
Michigan Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, 

free to State residents ; others pay $15 ; living, 

books, etc., $200-300. 
Michigan College of Mines, tuition, yearly, $25 ; 

board, room, etc., $330; fees, books, etc., $100- 

150. 
Middlebury College, tuition, yearly, $80 ; board, 

room, etc., $144-175; fees, books, etc., $12. 
Midland College, tuition, yearly, $40 ; board, 

room, etc., $115; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Milligan College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 

room, etc., $90; fees, books, etc., $10. 
Mills College, tuition, yearly, $150 ; board, room, 

etc., $350; fees, books, etc., $15-25. 

[ 227] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

Millsaps College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $135 ; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Milton College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, room, 

etc., $140; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Mississippi College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 

room, etc., $100-160; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College, 

tuition, yearly, free to State residents; others 

pay $30-50; board, room, etc., $100; fees, 

books, etc., $35. 
Monmouth College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 

room, etc., $300; fees, books, etc., . 

Montana State C. A. and M. Arts, tuition, yearly, 

$12 ; board, room, etc., $200 ; fees, books, etc., 

$100. 
Moore's Hill College, tuition, yearly, $39-42; 

board, room, etc., $95-133; fees, books, etc., 

$10. 
Morningside College, tuition, yearly, $48; board, 

room, etc., $200 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Mount Holyoke College (women), tuition, yearly, 

$150; board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., 



Muhlenberg College, tuition, yearly, $75; board, 
room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $20. 

Muskingum College, tuition, yearly, $45; board, 
room, etc., $108 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 

[ 228 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Nebraska Wesleyan University, tuition, yearly, 
$40; board, room, etc., $200-250; fees, books, 
etc., $25-80. 

Newton Theological Institute, tuition, yearly, 
none; board, room, etc., $170; fees, books, etc., 



New York University, tuition, yearly, $100-200; 

board, room, etc., $300-500 ; fees, books, etc., 

$50. 
Niagara University, tuition, yearly, $100 ; board, 

room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $30. 
North Carolina State Normal and Industrial Col- 
lege, tuition, yearly, $45 ; board, room, etc., 

$118; fees, books, etc., $18. 
North Dakota Agricultural College, tuition, 

yearly, none ; board, room, etc., $126-180 ; fees, 

books, etc., $25. 
Northwestern University, Illinois, tuition, yearly, 

$100 ; board, room, etc., $250 ; fees, books, etc., 

$28. 
Northwestern University, Wis., tuition, yearly, 

$40; board, room, etc., $100-200; fees, books, 

etc., $21-45. 
Norwich University, tuition, yearly, $140 ; board, 

room, etc., $133-152 ; fees, books, etc., $21-45. 
Oklahoma University, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $20. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Ohio Northern University, tuition, yearly, $10- 

12; board, room, etc., $125-200; fees, books, 

etc., . 

Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $117-239; fees, books, 

etc., $18. 
Olivet College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, room, 

etc., $135 ; fees, books, etc., $15. 
Oregon Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, 

none ; board, room, etc., $180-225 ; fees, books, 

etc., $60. 
Ottawa University, tuition, yearly, $36; board, 

room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $15-25. 
Otterbein University, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, 

room, etc., $133-171 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Ouachita College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $160-400; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Pacific University, tuition, yearly, $56; board, 

room, etc., $120-240; fees, books, etc., $20-55. 
Park College, tuition, yearly, $40 ; board, room, 

etc., $60-150; fees, books, etc., $5. 
Parker College, tuition, yearly, $30 ; board, room, 

etc., $125 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Parsons College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $135 ; fees, books, etc., $40-60. 
Peabody College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $135 ; fees, books, etc., $20. 

[ 230] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Penn College, Iowa, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $150-250; fees, books, $10-15. 
Pennsylvania College, tuition, yearly, $30 ; board, 

room, etc., $160; fees, books, etc., $40. 
Pennsylvania State College, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $162 ; fees, books, etc., $75- 

$300. 
Philander Smith College, tuition, yearly, $16; 

board, room, etc., $80; fees, books, etc., $8. 
Polytechnic Institute, tuition, yearly, $200 ; 

board, room, etc., ; fees, books, etc., . 

Pomona College, tuition, yearly, $90; board, 

room, etc., $200-300; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Pratt Institute, tuition, yearly, $7-75 ; board, 

room, etc., $200 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., 

$5-30. 
Princeton Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, 

none ; board, room, etc., $120 ; fees, books, etc., 

$43. 
Princeton University, tuition, yearly, $160; 

board, room, etc., $200 (minimum) ; fees, 

books* etc., $60 (minimum). 
Proseminar College, tuition, yearly, $150; board, 

room, etc., ; fees, books, etc., $8. 

Purdue University, tuition, yearly, free to State 

residents ; to others, $25 ; board, room, etc., 

$240; fees, books, etc., $75. 

[ 231 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Radcliffe College (women), tuition, yearly, $200; 

board, room, etc., $252-450; fees, books, etc., 

$20. 
Randolph Macon College, tuition, yearly, $75 ; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $45- 

55. (College for Women), same fees. 
Redfield College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $195 ; fees, books, etc., $25-50. 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, tuition, yearly, 

$200 ; board, room, etc., $220-870 ; fees, books, 

etc., $35 (minimum). 
Rhode Island State College, tuition, yearly, free 

to State residents ; others pay $30 ; board, 

room, etc., $165; fees, books, etc., $29-39. 
Rio Grande College, tuition, yearly, $28-32; 

board, room, etc., $120 ; fees, books, etc., . 

Ripon College, tuition, yearly, $20 ; board, room, 

etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $10 (minimum). 
Roanoke College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $150-200; fees, books, etc., $13- 

25. 
Rochester A. and M. Institute, tuition, yearly, 

$5-75 ; board, room, etc., $180-288 ; fees, books, 

etc., $11-37. 
Rochester Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $225; fees, books, 

etc., . 

[ 232 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Rockford College, tuition, yearly, $100; board, 

room, etc., $300; fees, books, etc., $11. 
Rollins College, tuition, yearly, $40-60; board, 

room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Rose Polytechnic Institute, tuition, yearly, $100; 

board, room, etc., $165-200; fees, books, etc., 

$35-50. 
Rutgers College, tuition, yearly, $100 ; board, 

room, etc., $180-198; fees, books, etc., $60. 
Seton Hall College, tuition, yearly, $75 ; board, 

rooms, etc., $265 ; fees, books, etc., $75. 
Shorter College (women), tuition, yearly, $70; 

board, room, etc., $215 ; fees, books, etc., $10. 
Shurtleff College, tuition, yearly, $54 ; board, 

room, etc., $152; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Simmons College, tuition, yearly, $100 ; board, 

room, etc., $190-300; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Simpson College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $190-300; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Smith College (women), tuition, yearly, $150; 

board, room, etc., $300 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., . 

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tuition, 

yearly, none; board, room, etc., $120 (mini- 
mum) ; fees, books, etc., $40. 
Southern University, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, $110 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., $20. 

[ 233 ] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

Southwestern University, Texas, tuition, yearly, 

$63; board, room, etc., $162; fees, books, etc., 

$18. 
Southwestern College, Kansas, tuition, yearly, 

$33-108; board, room, etc., $150; fees, books, 

etc., $25. 
Southwestern Presbyterian University, Tennes- 
see, tuition, yearly, $50; board, room, etc. 

$110 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., $40. 
State University of Kentucky, tuition, yearly, 

$25-65; board, room, etc., $100-250; fees, 

books, etc., $20. 
State University of Iowa, tuition, yearly, $20- 

$50; board, room, etc., $156-210; fees, books, 

etc., $10-75. 
Stevens Institute Technology, tuition, yearly, 

$225 ; board, room, etc., $280-400 ; fees, books, 

etc., $60. 
St. John's College, Md., tuition, yearly, $75; 

board, room, etc., $160-170; fees, books, etc., 

$20-30. 
St. Joseph's College, la., tuition, yearly, $60; 

board, room, etc., $180; fees, books, etc., 

$25. 
St. Louis University, tuition, yearly, $60-100; 

board, room, etc., $140-180; fees, books, etc., 

$20-50. 

[ 234 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

St. Mary's College, Ky., tuition, yearly, $40; 

board, room, etc., $200 ; fees, books, etc., $15. 
St. Olaf College, tuition, yearly, $25 ; board, 

room, etc., $108-115; fees, books, etc., $12-20. 
St. Stanislaus' College, tuition, yearly, $200; 

board, room, etc., ; fees, books, etc., $10- 

25. 
St. Stephen's College, tuition, yearly, $300 (this 

sum includes living-expenses and fees). 
Susquehanna College, tuition, yearly, $55 ; board, 

room, etc., $145 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Swarthmore College, tuition, yearly, $150; board, 

room, etc., $250; fees, books, etc., $10-50. 
Syracuse University, tuition, yearly, $75-125; 

board, room, etc., $175-300 ; fees, books, etc., 

$15-50. 
Tabor College, tuition, yearly, $36 ; board, room, 

etc., $140-250; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Talladega College, tuition, yearly, $90 ; board, 

room, etc., $85; fees, books, etc., $5. 
Tarkio College, tuition, yearly, $30; board, 

room, etc., $145-180; fees, books, etc., $25- 

50. 
Teachers' College, N. Y., tuition, yearly, $150 ; 

board, room, etc., $310 ; fees, books, etc., $120. 
Texas Christian University, tuition, yearly, $60; 

board, room, etc., $180; fees, books, etc., $100. 

[ 235 ] 



Working One's Wan Through College 

Throop Polytechnic Institute, tuition, yearly, 

$150; board, room, etc., $200 (minimum) ; fees, 

books, etc., $25. 
Trinity College, tuition, yearly, $100; board, 

room, etc., $200-320; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Trinity College, N. C, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Trinity University, Texas, tuition, yearly, $60; 

board, room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $16. 
Tufts College, tuition, yearly, $125-150; board, 

room, etc., $150-200; fees, books, etc., $125- 

200. 
Tuskegee Institute, tuition, yearly, none; board, 

room, etc., $88 ; fees, books, etc., $16. 
Union College, Neb., tuition, yearly, $45; board, 

room, etc., $130; fees, books, etc., $20. 
Union College, N. Y., tuition, yearly, $90-150; 

board, room, etc., $250 ; fees, books, etc., $100- 

200. 
University of Alabama, tuition, yearly, free to 

State residents ; board, room, etc., $175 ; fees, 

books, etc., $25. 
University of Arizona, tuition, yearly, free to 

State residents; fee for others, $20; board, 

room, etc., $250; fees, books, etc., $50-100. 
University of Arkansas, tuition, yearly, none; 

board, room, etc., $275; fees, books, etc., $30. 

[ 236 ] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

University of Chattanooga, tuition, yearly, $50 ; 

board, room, etc., $136 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., $25. 
University of Chicago, tuition, yearly, $120-180; 

board, room, etc., ; fees, books, etc., . 

University of Denver, tuition, yearly, $50-100 ; 

board, room, etc., $150 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., $15 (minimum). 
University of Georgia, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $135 (minimum) ; fees, 

books, etc., $30. 
University of Idaho, tuition, yearly, none ; board, 

room, etc., $270; fees, books, etc., $30. 
University of Illinois, tuition, yearly, $24-150 ; 

board, room, etc., $175-300; fees, books, etc., 

$50-75. 
University of Kansas, tuition, yearly, $10-35 ; 

board, room, etc., $189 ; fees, books, etc., $15- 

40. 
University of Louisville, tuition, yearly, $100; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $25. 
University of Maine, tuition, yearly, $60-100; 

board, room, etc., $156-234 ; fees, books, etc., 

$56. 
University of Michigan, tuition, yearly, average 

$60; board, room, etc., $162-320; fees, books, 

etc., . 

[ 237 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

University of Minnesota, tuition, yearly, $20- 

150; board, room, etc., $275-450; fees, books, 

etc., $20-150. 
University of Missouri, tuition, yearly, $20 ; 

board, room, etc., $175 (minimum) ; fees, books, 

etc., $10. 
University of Montana, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $300-400; fees, books, etc., 

$25-50. 
University of Nebraska, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $300-400; fees, books, etc., 

$35. 
University of Nevada, tuition, yearly, none ; 

board, room, etc., $196-392; charges for 

books, fees, etc., included in living expenses. 
University of North Dakota, tuition, yearly, — ; 

board, room, etc., $149; fees, books, etc., 

$40. 
University of Oklahoma, tuition, yearly, none; 

board, room, etc., $144-198; fees, books, etc., 

$10-50. 
University of Oregon, tuition, yearly, none; 

board, room, etc., $250-450; fees, books, etc., 

$20-50. 
University of Pennsylvania, tuition, yearly, $150- 

200; board, room, etc., ; fees, books, etc., 

• 

[238 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

University of Pittsburg, tuition, yearly, $105- 
200; board, room, etc., $300 (minimum) ; fees, 
books, etc., $15 (minimum). 

University of Porto Rico, tuition, yearly, none; 
board, room, etc., $120-200; fees, books, etc., 



University of Rochester, tuition, yearly, $96 ; 

board, room, etc., $180-300 ; fees, books, etc., 

$15-40. 
University of the South, tuition, yearly, $100 ; 

board, room, etc., $225-240 ; fees, books, etc., 

$10-30. 
University of South Carolina, tuition, yearly, 

$40 ; board, room, etc., $120 ; fees, books, etc., 

$35. 
University of South Dakota, tuition, yearly, $12 ; 

board, room, etc., $150; fees, books, etc., $10- 

25. 
University of Southern California, tuition, yearly, 

$80; board, room, etc., $150-225; fees, books, 

etc., $20. 
University of Florida, tuition, yearly, free to 

State residents ; charge to others, $20 ; board, 

room, etc., $120; fees, books, etc., $30. 
University of Tennessee, tuition, yearly, to non- 
residents, $80; board, room, etc., $162; fees, 

books, etc., $69. 

[ 239 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

University of Texas, tuition, yearly, none ; board, 

room, etc., $180-450; fees, books, etc., $45. 
University of Vermont, tuition, yearly, $80 ; 

board, room, etc., $200-280; fees, books, etc., 

$10-15. 
University of Virginia, tuition, yearly, average 

academic, $75 ; board, room, etc., $170 ; fees, 

books, etc., $50-65. 
University of Washington, tuition, yearly, none; 

board, room, $300; fees, books, etc., $50-100. 
University of Wisconsin, tuition, yearly, none to 

residents; to others, $50; board, room, etc., 

$200-300; fees, books, etc., $15-50. 
University of Wooster, tuition, yearly, $60; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $50. 
University of Wyoming, tuition, yearly, none; 

board, room, etc., $225-275; fees, books, etc., 

$30-50. 
Upper Iowa University, tuition, yearly, $50; 

board, room, etc., $135; fees, books, etc., $12. 
Urbana University, tuition, yearly, $45; board, 

room, etc., $100; fees, books, etc., $10-15. 
Ursinus College, tuition, yearly, $50; board, 

room, etc., $160-210; fees, books, etc., $60-75. 
U. S. Military Academy and U. S. Naval Acad- 
emy, tuition is free for such as receive formal 

appointments. No others are admitted. 

[ 240 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Utah Agricultural College, tuition, yearly, resi- 
dents, $5 ; non-residents, $25 ; board, room, etc., 

$162; fees, books, etc., $10. 
Valparaiso University, tuition, yearly, $72; 

board, room, etc., $95 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Vanderbilt University, tuition, yearly, $100; 

board, room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $50- 

100. 
Vassar College (women), tuition, yearly, $150; 

board, room, etc., $350; fees, books, etc., — . 
Vincennes University, tuition, yearly, $24 ; board, 

room, etc., $200 ; fees, books, etc., $10. 
Virginia Christian College, tuition, yearly, $45 ; 

board, room, etc., $117; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Virginia Military Institution, tuition, yearly, 

$325 (this includes living expenses). 
Virginia Polytechnic Institute, tuition, yearly, 

non-residents $50; others free; board, room, 

etc., $185 ; fees, books, etc., $55. 
Wabash College, tuition, yearly, $47 ; board, room, 

etc., $198; fees, books, etc., $50-85. 
Wake Forest College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $110-175; fees, books, etc., $55. 
Walden University, tuition, yearly, $14-55 ; 

board, room, etc., $85-100; fees, books, etc., 

$5-20. 

[241] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Washington College, Maryland, tuition, yearly, 

$50; board, room, etc., $153; fees, books, etc., 

$25 
Washington and Jefferson College, tuition, yearly, 

$60 ; board, room, etc., $180 ; fees, books, etc., 

$75. 
Washington and Lee University, tuition, yearly, 

$50 ; board, room, etc., $135-225 ; fees, books, 

etc., $40-50. 
Washington University, tuition, yearly, $75-150 ; 

board, room, etc., $240-280; fees, books, etc., 

$25-50. 
Waynesburg College, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, 

room, etc., $156; fees, books, etc., $7. 
Wellesley College (women), tuition, yearly, $175; 

board, room, etc., $275 ; fees, books, etc., $25. 
Wesleyan University, tuition, yearly, $35 ; board, 

room, etc., $120-300; fees, books, etc., $50-70. 
Western College (women), tuition, yearly, $350 

(this sum includes living expenses, fees, books, 

etc. ) . 
Western Reserve University, tuition, yearly, 

$100; board, room, etc., $180 (minimum); 

fees, books, etc., . 

Western Theological Seminary, tuition, yearly, 

none; board, room, etc., $128; fees, books, etc., 

$70. 

[ 242 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Westfield College, tuition, yearly, $32; board, 

room, etc., $110-148; fees, books, etc., $10- 

20. 
Westminster College, Maryland, tuition, yearly, 

$60; board, room, etc., $150-350; fees, books, 

etc., $20-40. 
Westminster College, Pennsylvania, tuition, yearly, 

$60; board, room, etc., $144-196; fees, books, 

etc., $20. 
West Virginia University, tuition, yearly, $20- 

50; board, room, etc., $160-225; fees, books, 

etc., $25-50. 
West Virginia Wesleyan College, tuition, yearly, 

$33; board, room, etc., $148; fees, books, etc., 

$19. 
Wheaton College, tuition, yearly, $50 ; board, 

room, etc., $100-200 ; fees, books, etc., $10-25. 
Whitman College, tuition, yearly, $100 ; board, 

room, etc., $200; fees, books, etc., $50. 
Whitworth College, tuition, yearly, $60 ; board, 

room, etc., $180 (minimum) ; fees, books, etc., 

$15-20. 
William and Mary College, tuition, yearly, $40; 

board, room, etc., $120-150 ; fees, books, etc., 

$30-50. 
William Jewell College, tuition, yearly, $50; 

board, room, etc., $160; fees, books, etc., $40. 

[243] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Williams College, tuition, yearly, $140; board, 
room, etc., $251-476; fees, books, etc., $50. 

Wilson College (women), tuition, yearly, $60; 
board, room, etc., $235; fees, books, etc., $30. 

Wittenberg College, tuition, yearly, $60; board, 
room, etc., $110; fees, books, etc., $90. 

Wofford College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 
room, etc., $154; fees, books, etc., $30. 

Yale University, tuition, yearly, $155 (mini- 
mum) ; board, room, etc., average $325 ; fees, 
books, e%©., average $145. flo*' —* 

Yankton College, tuition, yearly, $40; board, 
room, etc., $126; fees, books, etc., $44. 



[ 244 ] 



CHAPTER XIX 

VIEWS OF SOME MAGAZINE WRITERS 

In the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 
— Bible. 

WHILE there has heretofore been no book 
issued which treats of working one's way 
through college, there have appeared in the last 
fifteen or twenty years a dozen or more magazine 
articles on this theme. These have been either 
relatively brief studies of the subject, or ac- 
counts of personal experiences. They have all 
been valuable so far as they went. And it is 
well worth while, in a volume which aims to give 
all the light available on this subject to prospec- 
tive self-helpers, and to those already in the 
midst of the struggle, to call attention to the 
principal points brought out by those writers. 

The National Magazine, September, 1900, pub- 
lished a brief paper by Leonard K. Smith on 
" Self-Support in College." He said in sub- 
stance : * 



* By permission of The National Magazine. 

[ 245 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

" My own capital at my entrance to college was five 
hundred dollars, the gift of a distant relative whom 
I had never seen. I reached Boston a raw youngster 
of seventeen, absolutely inexperienced in life, two 
thousand miles from home, with twenty-eight cents in 
my pocket. I made a capital breakfast of a huge cup 
of coffee and a plate of baked beans at a cheap restau- 
rant (cost ten cents), went out to Cambridge and en- 
gaged a room, and spent my last eight cents in a ride 
to the suburban home of my relative (if I could find 
it). I took a wrong car, of course, and had to walk 
two or three miles, but arrived safely at last, found 
him at home, and went back to Cambridge with 
twenty-five dollars and a relieved mind. 

" Of the story of that year, beyond a somewhat too 
close application to books, little need be said. I was 
not aware of the necessity of making friends, and 
lived mostly to myself. I was successful in obtaining 
in January an allotment of Price Greenleaf Aid to the 
amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, in return for 
which I addressed envelopes and folded circulars four 
hours a week in the college office. I finished the year 
with two hundred and twenty-five dollars left of my 
original capital. Meantime I had the summer to pro- 
vide for. I was fortunate enough, after writing some 
thirty letters of application, to get a place as bell boy 
and porter at a small hotel on the Maine coast. Here 
I was on duty from seven in the morning till eleven 
or twelve at night. Besides answering calls for about 
forty guests and handling baggage, I had thirty hang- 
ing lamps to care for, five gallons of ice cream to. 
freeze daily, water-coolers and meat-boxes to fill with 

[ 246 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

ice and, during the August rush, the by no means 
congenial task of scraping dishes in the kitchen. But 
it paid. I received five dollars a month extra wages, 
and with some thirty-five dollars in tips managed to 
save ninety dollars. Nor was I treated altogether 
as a servant. Meantime I had been awarded a one- 
hundred-and-fifty-dollar scholarship for the coming 
year. With what was left out of my capital, I still 
had four hundred and sixty-five dollars. That is, my 
first year cost me just thirty-five dollars. 

" The next year, I boarded at the Foxcroft Club, 
a cooperative institution, where one pays a la carte, 
a cent for butter, a cent for bread, ten cents for meat, 
and so forth, and for the first term I did it on two 
dollars a week. But this got tiresome, and later I ran 
up to three dollars and a half. I waited on table at 
the same place (the waiters are all students), and 
made two dollars a week. This all went for pocket 
money, about sixty dollars during the year. I had 
moved into a dormitory and gone to the alarming 
expense of fifty dollars for furnishings. I made a few 
dollars getting subscriptions for one of the college 
papers, and a few more soliciting for another. I had 
become a theatre-goer, joined the boat club, and had 
enough on hand to lend forty dollars to one of my 
friends. I ended the year with fifty dollars still left 
of my capital, and a three-hundred-dollar scholarship. 

" That summer I worked as bell boy in a large 
hotel near Gloucester, at the munificent salary of ten 
dollars a month, of which I paid twelve dollars for a 
uniform. I was on duty twelve and eighteen hours a 
day alternately. But it was a fashionable place, 

[247 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

where I could render many services beyond those 
merely compulsory, and I made one hundred and fifty 
dollars and many good friends. 

" At the beginning of my third year in college I 
had just five hundred dollars to look forward to. I 
had lived two years for nothing. My expenses mean- 
while had increased. I dressed better, boarded bet- 
ter, and had accumulated a very fair little library. 

"The next two years were practically repetitions 
of the last. I led a comfortable life, knew how to 
study economically, and had plenty of time for recrea- 
tion. I managed to have a little spread for a few of 
my friends (a very few) on Class Day, and found 
myself at the end of four years with a clear record, 
an honorable degree, and no debts to speak of. My 
total expenses were in the neighborhood of twenty-five 
hundred dollars. Out of this I had received from 
scholarships and other loans and aid from the col- 
lege, one thousand and fifty dollars. I had five 
hundred dollars to start with. The rest I had gath- 
ered by the wayside. 

" But mine was a commonplace history. Naturally 
my friendships lay mostly among the poorer students. 
One whom I knew well came with fifty dollars of 
debts behind him, a very shabby cut-away, a tiny 
satchel of other clothing, and a very battered type- 
writer, — his stock in trade. He found work almost 
at once, as a sort of secretary to one of the professors, 
remained in Cambridge during the summer at the same 
work, and in the second year, with debts paid, new 
clothes, and a scholarship of one hundred and fifty 
dollars. His typewriting work increased, and he 

[ 248 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

bought a new machine. Often in the stress of work, 
or when the time for the payment of term-bills drew 
near, he had no time to attend recitations, and frankly- 
said so when called to account for cuts. Once I 
knew him to work for forty-eight hours with only two 
hours of sleep, until his fingers absolutely refused to 
work longer. When or how he managed to study 
enough to pass I never knew, nor he either. It was 
often at meal times and very frequently by deft con- 
versations with his fellows. Facts put away in the 
memory under the stress of excitement usually stick. 
He was shabby; he was also well, cheery, and fond 
of fun. In his third year he published with the con- 
sent of the professors a series of valuable typewritten 
notes on Medical School lectures, and thereby gained 
a steady income of several hundred dollars a year, 
which will last for some years to come. In this work 
he hired assistants to do stereotyping. Together we 
got out a set of questions in Chemistry covering the 
examinations for ten years back, with answers. This 
netted us forty dollars. The last year of his course, 
he went into other advertising and publishing 
schemes, and graduated with high honors and nearly 
a thousand dollars in bank. 

"Another friend, who was too slow a student to 
take any but small scholarships, waited on table 
twenty-one hours a week at Foxcroft at twenty-five 
cents an hour. Later he became president of the club 
at a salary of one hundred dollars. A second had a 
laundry agency that paid nearly all his expenses. A 
third found a tailor who would press trousers at re- 
duced rates ; they went into partnership, and were so 

[249 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

successful that my friend gave up the work of solicit- 
ing trade and confined himself to general management 
of the company. They had nearly a dozen employees. 
One fellow of means made from two hundred to three 
hundred dollars every summer canvassing. He had 
special qualifications, and succeeded where most 
failed. Then there was a student who reported for 
a Boston paper and cleared nearly five hundred dol- 
lars a year; another who bought up the college base- 
ball programme and made a hundred or so ; but he was 
too sanguine a speculator and went to pieces, though 
he managed to graduate. He used to make Fourth of 
July and Decoration Day speeches up in New Hamp- 
shire at from ten to twenty-five dollars each. 

" In my time in Harvard, I should say fifteen or 
twenty per cent of the three thousand students were 
more or less self-supporting. Very many of these, 
too, passed as the well-to-do men of the college, were 
taken into the Hasty Pudding Club, and others, and 
were elected Class Marshals on Class Day, though 
of course these latter instances were not usual. On 
the other hand, some fail. This is usually due to 
morbidness of disposition, ill health, or other consti- 
tutional failings. None of those who thus assist them- 
selves go out into life with the proverbial uncertainty 
and inexperience of college graduates. The young 
business man cannot pursue recreation, athletics, his- 
tory, politics, fine arts, and poetry on a salary of fifty 
dollars a month; the young college man can, and he 
can make the salary also. But more than that, the 
college is the place of opportunities, where young men 
learn to expect much of life and get it. The student 

[ 250] 



Working One's Way Through College 

who neglects his studies for other matters is certainly- 
making a grievous mistake ; but those who make books 
and study all of their college work make a greater. 
Study brings knowledge; the other things bring self- 
reliance, tact, experience. We do hear of college 
men who are failures in life; I believe that usually 
they have themselves to blame. The chance for suc- 
cess is there." 

George Kennan, in McClure's Magazine, March, 
1908, under the title " The Cost of Living," tells 
the story of the University of Valparaiso, In- 
diana, and the remarkable results obtained at the 
second largest institution of learning in the 
United States.* He says : 

" Of all the attempts that have recently been made 
to lessen the cost of living, by building model tene- 
ments, eliminating middlemen, buying provisions in 
large quantities, and saving unnecessary waste, the 
most interesting and perhaps the most successful is 
that of the Valparaiso University. In its effort to 
furnish higher education at rates within the means of 
the average American family, it has solved, or come 
near to solving, the difficult problem of furnishing the 
prime requisites of human existence, namely shelter 
and food, at a per capita cost of twenty-three cents 
a day." 



* The editor of McClure's Magazine and Mr. Kennan 
have kindly given me permission to use the matter here 
quoted.— C. D. W. 

[251] 



Working One's Way Through College 

This University has no endowment from out- 
side sources; it is the creation of two compara- 
tively poor men, and is the result of forty years 
of intelligent, thoughtful, well-directed work. 
Board, room, and higher education are furnished 
at thirty-eight cents a day. The University gives 
the student an abundant, well-cooked, and well- 
served dinner for ten cents, a breakfast for four 
cents, a supper for four cents, a good bed in a 
single furnished room for five cents, and tuition 
for fifteen cents a day. 

The University has fifty acres of land, nine 
substantial buildings, one hundred and sixty-two 
professors or teachers, nearly a million dollars, 
and more than five thousand students of both sexes. 

It gives its students not only higher educa- 
tion in general, but special training in pedagogy, 
law, music, medicine, surgery, pharmacy, dentis- 
try, bookkeeping, banking, insurance, railroad- 
ing, civil engineering, and commerce. It has stu- 
dents not only from Indiana, but from every State 
in the Union, and from twenty-two foreign 
countries. 

" President Brown and Vice-President Kinsey 
tried, in the very beginning, to limit the necessary 
expenses of a student to a sum that would not over- 
strain the financial resources of even a poor family; 

[ 252] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and, by establishing kitchens, opening dining-halls 
and dormitories of their own, and applying business 
principles and methods to the problem of cheap liv- 
ing, they have gradually reduced the per capita cost 
of good food and comfortable shelter to twenty-three 
cents a day. 

" A half-share in a furnished sitting-room and bed- 
room at Valparaiso may be had for fifty cents a week. 
In the Valparaiso dining-hall the student's board 
averages one dollar and eighty cents a week. A 
wholly satisfactory dinner of four courses, served on 
a neat, linen-covered, flower-decorated table, in a 
warm, light, well-ventilated hall, is obtained for ten 
cents. The per capita cost, multiplied by the number 
of diners, covers not only cooking, lights, fuel, serv- 
ice, and flowers for table decoration, but laundry work, 
breakage, depreciation of plant, and interest on 
capital invested." 

Mr. Kennan says the secret lies partly in man- 
agement, or " brains," and partly in the elim- 
ination of middlemen and the purchase of raw 
food-stuffs in large quantities. Vice-President 
Kinsey makes all purchases and contracts, su- 
pervises the work of cooks, dining-room helpers, 
and gardeners ; he devises and puts in practice 
small economies, such as the saving and selling of 
table and kitchen leavings and refuse, the buying 
of sorted potatoes, or the cutting of bread in 
thin slices ; and watches constantly the making out 

[ 253 ] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

of menus, so as to have incessant change from 
meal to meal and from day to day. 

The University has seven acres of garden, cul- 
tivated mainly by students who are working their 
way through the educational course and who labor 
two or three hours a day under the direction of 
hired gardeners. Things not produced in the 
garden are grown by local farmers, under con- 
tract, at a certain specified sum per acre. The 
University, for example, agrees to pay ten dol- 
lars for the product of a single acre planted with 
sweet corn. It supplies the seed and picks the 
corn, while the farmer furnishes the land and 
takes care of the growing corn. As student labor 
may be had at low rates, the farmer makes a fair 
and certain profit, while the University gets, for 
its ten dollars, about thirty dollars' worth of corn, 
Potatoes — about six thousand bushels a year — 
are obtained from local farmers or from whole- 
sale dealers, at an average of forty cents a 
bushel. Many things are bought in the open mar- 
kets at wholesale rates. The milk consumed an- 
nually — about thirty thousand gallons — is all 
furnished by two local farmers at an average 
price of ten cents per gallon. 

Flour in large quantities comes directly from 
the great mills; coffee is procured from the 

[254] 



Working One's Way Through College 

importers ; fresh meat is bought by the dressed 
carcass from local farmers and the Chicago pack- 
ing houses. 

Students are housed in Valparaiso almost as 
economically as they are fed. A " single " fur- 
nished room costs sixty cents a week, and a 
" double " room one dollar a week. The latter con- 
sists of sitting room, bed room, and closets. In 
apartments of this class, heat and lights are ex- 
tra. In the new Lembke Hall the rooms are all 
" double," with hot and cold water, and the 
rental, including heat, is two dollars a week, or 
one dollar each for two. Lembke Hall tenants, 
however, have superior accommodations and 
pay about forty-five cents more a week for 
board. 

Continuous attendance for a specified term is 
not insisted upon. A majority of the students 
take their terms consecutively and finish their 
education without interruption ; but if a boy can- 
not afford a two- or a four-year course, or if 
his family needs his help during a part of every 
year, he may take a twenty-four or a forty-eight 
week course, and then drop out. When he re- 
turns, at the end of a season or a year, he may 
begin again precisely where he left off, provided 
he has retained the knowledge that he had when 

[ 255 ] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

he stopped work. This freedom in the matter of 
attendance puts a collegiate training within the 
reach of hundreds of young men who could not 
possibly get it if they were required to take a 
continuous four-year course. It also enables 
teachers in country schools to obtain instruction 
during their summer vacations. 

One day, a new boy came to President Brown 
and said : " I can pay for a forty-eight-week 
course, but at the end of it I shan't have enough 
to buy a railroad ticket home. What had I best 
do?" 

" Are you willing to wait at table in one of the 
dining-halls ? " 

" Certainly," replied the boy, " if that 's all 
the work there is ; but I 've been brought up on 
a farm, and I 'd rather do something else." 

" All right. We '11 put you into the garden. 
You can earn enough there in your spare hours, 
to reduce your expenses by half. How '11 that 
do?" 

" Fine," exclaimed the boy, and with a note 
from the president to the head gardener, he went 
away rejoicing. 

This is in every way an admirable school, and 
for the thousands who cannot go to Yale or 
Harvard or any other expensive university, 

[ 256 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Valparaiso offers exceptional advantages at a cost 
within their means. 

Professor Orlando F. Lewis, of the University 
of Maine, in The North American Review* No- 
vember, 1904, in a paper called " The Self-Sup- 
porting Student in American Colleges," gives 
many interesting facts. He says : 

" Self-support is one of the most prominent features 
of the American college life of to-day. . . . The 
self-supporting student is a large factor, numerically 
and economically, in the college world; and indeed it 
may be seriously asked if the typical ' college man ' 
might not be more truthfully represented by the self- 
supporting student than by the much more familiar 
hero of the college tales, illustrated weeklies, and 
athletic fields. 

" From Maine to California the self-supporting 
students form a respectable and much-respected army. 
In only four out of fifty-nine colleges reporting to 
me, are they estimated as falling below ten per cent 
of the total enrolment, namely, at the Universities of 
the South, Cincinnati, Missouri, and Utah. But in 
Colby College, Illinois College, and Baker University, 
ninety per cent of the students are believed to be 
working, wholly or partly, their way through college. 
Bates College and Rutgers College report eight per 
cent or over, and Dartmouth and the Universities of 



* The N. A. Beview granted me permission to use this 
copyrighted matter. — C. D. W. 

[257] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

Vermont, Minnesota, and Kansas, seventy per cent or 
more. 

"It is quite possible that an average of forty-five 
per cent of self-supporting students, or fifty-three 
thousand, seven hundred and seventy-three in a total 
enrolment of one hundred and nineteen thousand, four 
hundred and ninety-six (the figures of the year 1901) 
may be representative. 

" Averaging the ' low ' expense estimates of fifty- 
eight colleges, we have $216; the medium estimates 
of forty-one colleges $340; and the ' liberal ' estimates 
of fifty colleges give us $471. The average 'low' 
expenses of twenty-four State universities are $170; 
of thirty-nine other colleges, $242; the difference in 
favor of the State universities may be explained partly 
by their low or free tuition, and by the lower cost of 
living in the Central and Western States, where the 
State universities are most prominent and strongest. 
College expenses in the East average considerably 
higher than elsewhere. 

" The problem, then, before the self-supporting 
student is, approximately, how to earn at least two 
hundred dollars from September to September. . . . 
The colleges have, in increasing numbers, instituted 
free ' self-help ' agencies. . . . The kinds of work 
done by students, though not unlimited in extent, are 
practically endless in variety. Dean Hurlburt of 
Harvard says it is far easier to enumerate the things 
students do not do than to tell the ways in which they 
earn their money. . . . The college student is not 
afraid to tackle as varied occupations as are listed 
in a city directory. His ingenuity, pertinacity, and 

[ 258 ] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

cheerfulness are his great stock in trade. 

He does everything all the year round in all sorts of 

ways. 

" Student occupations in vacation-time are even 
more varied than term-time jobs. Vacation is literally 
the student's time for making hay. He turns up 
everywhere ; selling stereoscopic views at the Vermont 
side-door, harvesting in the Kansas wheat fields, man- 
aging a summer stage line running into the Yosemite, 
cooking for a Minnesota lumber camp, setting type 
for a Pennsylvania county weekly. He registers you 
at the hotel desk, shows you to your room, seats 
you at the dining-table, checks your baggage, sells you 
your ticket, and takes in his various capacities your 
tip, all for the cause of education. He surveys the 
railroad you are travelling upon, calls out the sta- 
tions, and shovels the fuel into the engine. And he 
travels considerably more than the majority of his 
college professors. 

" That the American college is a democratic insti- 
tution, in which worth counts more than wealth, is 
the sentiment of many replies from the colleges as to 
the social standing of the self-supporting student. 
Not only are working-boys accorded college honors, 
but class distinction and fraternity fellowship are 
offered with a most satisfactory readiness to the self- 
supporting students. Of fifty-nine colleges, forty- 
seven report ' no difference " in social standing. At 
Baker University, ' the students here consider that 
there is a little premium upon the man or woman who 
works. Hence some of our students who financially 
do not need to work take on, nevertheless, a little 

[ 259 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

labor.' At Wabash the self-supporting students are 
the leaders in all the student organizations. 

" It may be said of the self-supporting American 
student that he and his fellows are going to college 
in large numbers, and constitute nearly one-half of the 
entire college student-body of the United States. It 
is difficult to estimate how many more students would 
go to college did they feel that they could earn their 
college expenses ; for those who undertake the ' four 
years' warfare ' the annual expenses can be hardly 
less than two hundred dollars. The college itself can 
offer to the student comparatively few opportunities 
for work within its walls and boundaries, but the self- 
help bureau will try to find work for him that, if 
industriously pursued, will bring him in from one 
hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars between 
September and June. This sum, added to what he 
can earn during the summer, should meet about two- 
thirds of his college expenses. His college work will 
be somewhat hampered by his outside labor, but if 
he gives to learning his lessons the same energy he 
devotes to earning money, his scholarship will be fully 
as good as the average. His social standing will not 
be impaired by his self-support, unless the time put 
upon his outside work causes him to neglect ordinary 
social duties and opportunities. His four years of 
college life may have to be extended through five from 
lack of funds, but if he has pluck and seriousness he 
can win the battle. He can count upon having the 
respect of president, faculty, and students, and in his 
hours of hard work he can console himself with the 
thought that his enforced labor is very probably 

[ 260] 



Working One's Way Through College 

developing within him the qualities of pluck, endur- 
ance, and thoughtfulness that later on in life will 
stand him in excellent stead." 

The Century Magazine,* June and July, 1901, 
contained two papers by Alice K. Fallows, " Work- 
ing One's Way through College," and " Working 
One's Way through Women's Colleges." The 
writer said: 

" Many solve the problem [of self-help at college] 
by becoming the middleman between an outside mer- 
chant and the inside college public. The agency 
which results is one of the methods of earning money 
familiar in every college from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. Confectioners, bakers, photographers, sta- 
tioners, dry-goods merchants, tailors, and a hundred 
others reach college members through one of their 
own number. ... A laundry agency ranks first 
of all in the working student's estimation, since no 
financial crisis or depression, without or within, 
affects his custom. Even if ruin is on the programme 
for the next day, the desire for clean linen is insistent. 

" To an original Harvard man is due the invention 
of a new and delightful kind of tutoring which has 
been adopted by students of other colleges. Through 
friends he formed a club of fifteen or twenty boys 
from some of the best families in Boston, and three 
times in the week took charge of them for several 



* The Century and Miss Fallows kindly granted me per- 
mission to quote this material. — C. D. W. 

[ 261 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

hours in the afternoon. He had a particular genius 
for managing them, and they would almost have given 
up a circus rather than lose a meeting. He took 
them on expeditions to various points of interest 
about Boston, which he himself had never seen, taught 
them games in the park, and, if the weather was 
utterly impossible, entertained them indoors. The 
sum which each boy paid made the class well worth 
the student's time and attention, while his pleasure 
in his work was second only to that of the boys. After 
the initial experiment, several clubs were formed, 
and it is now a common experience for Boston citi- 
zens to see a Harvard student and his twenty or more 
faithful satellites looking reverently at some poet's 
house, craning their necks at Bunker Hill Monument, 
or peering at the treasures in the museum. 

' With self-support as one factor in a college boy's 
life, restriction of some kind almost inevitably com- 
pletes the equation. In every college from sea-coast 
to sea-coast, the student earning his way unassisted 
must needs make out a daily programme in which 
bread-and-butter-work takes the time devoted by his 
non-supporting classmates to pleasanter things. One 
of the limitations to which he must adapt himself as 
gracefully as he can is likely to be the comparative 
narrowness of his social horizon. The recreative value 
of mingling with one's fellows is not small, but far 
more important is the liberalizing influence of men 
belonging to one class, with one set of prejudices, in 
association with those of another, with opposite be- 
liefs and convictions. It is pleasant to believe that 
our colleges are so arranged that the poor as well as 

[ 262 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the rich have the full benefit of this social friction. 
In the opinion of many good and estimable people, 
they are. Of nineteen college presidents or their 
representatives who were asked whether the fact of 
self-support affected a student's social position or not, 
eighteen answered the question in the negative. From 
their point of view, the answer was correct. In all 
college functions and entertainments the working 
student has an equal right with his luxuriously sup- 
ported classmate. Judging from these obvious facts, 
his social position seems all that could be desired. 
But an investigation from the inside soon shows that 
while the working student shares in the large cor- 
porate social life of the college, there are many little 
circles within the big circle which he cannot enter. 
Even in the most democratic institution, distinctions 
between the rich student and the working student 
must necessarily exist. 

" A Yale spokesman says, ' Of course here, as 
everywhere, though to a limited degree, the socially 
divisive influences of wealth and poverty are in oper- 
ation. The man who has not means has to omit 
certain associations open to the man who has. Then 
again, some kinds of service, such as waiting at table, 
suggest an inferiority, which others, such as tutoring 
and collecting, do not. But the man who has to go 
without, or who undertakes the lowly task in order 
to gain an education, suffers the least possible here for 
the sacrifice he has to make, and is in general honored 
for it/ 

" Occasionally, previous training is accountable 
for the small scope of a working student's social 

[ 263 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

experience. If he has not been taught the use of his 
fork and the other ordinate requirements of good so- 
ciety, even the fact of his being in a democratic col- 
lege will not put him at once on the invitation list of 
fastidious students, who regard such omission in the 
nature of a crime. 

" Nevertheless, working students are not fore- 
doomed to social failure. All over the country there 
are notable exceptions, men who, in spite of every 
disadvantage, win not only academic honors, but social 
honors as well. In Western colleges and universities 
the working student finds it less difficult to earn a good 
place in the college society, perhaps, than in Eastern 
institutions, where ' what our fathers did ' is a more 
potent consideration than in the newer country. But 
every college of the East has its record of self-sup- 
porting students who have gained intellectual glory 
and social distinction. Yale points with pride to 
many such men among its graduates, and even Har- 
vard, where classes seem as rigidly fixed as in any 
college community, is rich in examples. If a student, 
to be sure, is an average man, with average attrac- 
tions, and is not content with revolving in one of many 
subcircles of Harvard, his social unhappiness is quite 
definitely assured. But if he is the exceptional man, 
like others before him, he may be able to perform a 
miracle, pull himself up by the shoulders to the level 
of the Croesus, and make his very obstacles a stepping- 
stone to success. 

" One student entered the college penniless, and 
handicapped by such a limited knowledge of Greek, 
Latin, and mathematics as could be snatched between: 

[ 261 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

trips while he was earning his precollegiate living as 
elevator-boy. By the end of four years he had tran- 
scended all the natural limits of his circumstances, and 
had become one of the most popular men in his class. 
Hasty Pudding and Signet were proud to number him 
among their members. He wore the Phi Beta Kappa 
key, which testified to the excellence of his scholar- 
ship, and his last bow to the college was as a speaker 
on the commencement stage. Since then he has taken 
his profession by storm. 

" The boy who comes to Harvard on his own merits 
finds that the college is like a great swimming-school 
where he is dropped into deep water and told to 
swim. If he can, his fellow-students begin to notice 
him; if not, he sinks to oblivion. The policy of non- 
interference is carried to its farthest limit at Harvard. 
The college is not likely to turn its psychology upside 
down for one student. 

" In such colleges as the Northwestern University, 
where one-half of the thousand students in residence 
at Evanston support themselves, men with their way 
to earn have an approximation to an earthly paradise. 

" College self-support seems scarcely a holiday task. 
But even under present conditions neither a break- 
down nor a low grade is the ordained conclusion of 
the self-supporting hypothesis, and any number of 
hale and hearty men to-day are leaving their impress 
on the age, who struggled through college, earning 
their way, and winning a high degree of scholarship 
as well. 

" The hard lot of the working student, in fact, is 
his best stock-in-trade, if he is willing to make use of 

[ 265 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

it. . . . For every dollar earned, a man must give 
one hundred cents' worth of goods, equal to his 
neighbor's or a little better. Yet even the strict re- 
quirements of the business world are relaxed for the 
self-helping student. ' I am working my way/ proves 
an open sesame to the heart of many an employer. 
But the student who depends on sympathy, 
even in college, to excuse his inefficiency, is counted 
more or less a thorn in the flesh. It is his capable, 
wide-awake brother who avoids the dangers of col- 
lege self-support, and gains its blessings, who stands 
the best chance of taking the outside world by the 
shoulders and turning it his way." 

The same writer in the July number of The 
Century, 1901, tells also of " Working One's Way 
through Women's Colleges." She says : 

" The Smith College calendar hanging in a corner 
took one girl half through the term. The picture- 
frame opposite paid the incidental expenses of another 
for a year, while the jolly pair of foot-ball players, 
constructed out of tissue-paper and pecans, sitting 
on the window sill made the temporary fortune of 
their inventor. A day after she had slipped in and 
put them there they became the college fad, and for 
weeks she could not turn them out fast enough to fill 
her orders. Then suddenly their popularity waned; 
no one wanted them. j 

" When a girl, out of the fulness of her desire, 
determines to work her way through college, she must 
first rid herself of the notion that she can copy her 

[ 266 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

college brother. . . . The self-supporting girl 
finds before many an industry open to her college 
brother a sign on which custom or the college presi- 
dent has written ' No Admittance/ She can neither 
weed lawns nor dig gardens, clean furnaces nor shovel 
snow. Few girls, under the circumstances, have the 
physical exuberance necessary to meet the strain of 
entire self-support. They must stop short at self- 
help. But the attitude of a woman's college is strongly 
paternal. Though restrictions are laid on the student 
who works her way, scholarships and loans, as far as 
they go, are the compensations, and, when these are 
exhausted, a protective care and watchfulness which 
seldom fall to the lot of the college man. 

" Moreover, a girl, by virtue of being a girl, has 
an inherited knowledge of housewifely tools before 
she puts on her first pinafore. It is her one point of 
superiority over her college brother, and she has made 
the most of it. As symbols of the higher education, 
broom, dust-pan, and needle should be enshrined with 
cap and gown, for they are the weapons with which 
many a student has won her diploma. Nine out of 
every ten girls who have worked their way through 
college owe it to the commercial value of their fem- 
inine accomplishments. 

" In the University of California, as at Oberlin, 
housework is a popular way of solving the problem 
of self-support. Many of the girls find places in 
private houses of Berkeley, where they earn their 
board and lodging with three or four hours' work a 
day. The University has also undertaken a very in- 
teresting experiment, which is nothing less than a 

[ 267 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

sewing school for college women. A house of eleven 
rooms, four blocks from the campus, has been rented 
by the University and equipped completely with cut- 
ting-tables, sewing-machines, chairs, footstools, work 
baskets, cupboards, and everything else that a model 
sewing-school should have. The course, conducted 
by an expert seamstress, is thoroughly systematic, in- 
cluding all grades of sewing from the simplest bast- 
ing to the finest needlework, and a diploma is the 
reward for completing it. Some of the work of the 
girls is so exquisitely done that it finds a ready market 
even in Chicago and New York. 

" College girls rarely manifest the talent for busi- 
ness organization which is characteristic of self-sup- 
porting college men. Their financial careers seldom 
have any organic unity. They play at Jack of all 
trades, for the ventures in which they engage are 
only makeshifts. The dollars they earn are not an 
end in themselves, but a bridge to their diplomas. 

" Even Smith, which represents the ultra-develop- 
ment of student support, follows the rule. Few finan- 
cial attempts are made which by a stretch of the 
imagination can be called a business. Dancing classes 
for the drilling of freshman recruits to prepare them 
for the midterm sophomore reception prove profitable 
ventures. A spring class of juniors to furbish up 
their steps before the Junior Promenade provides an- 
other opportunity for expert drillers. 

" A student whose particular accomplishment was 
darning stockings set about making use of it in a way 
that showed a limited business capacity at least. She 
offered to keep the stockings belonging to one 

[ 268 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

wardrobe in order during the year for three dollars, 
and at this rate obtained perhaps thirty customers, 
divided among four or five different houses. 

" One industry which very nearly meets Webster's 
definition of a business is the making of gymna- 
sium suits during the first six weeks of the year. 
The girl who secures the contract to fit out the three 
or four hundred freshmen with suits must have a 
handy needle, a level head, and executive ability. 
She will earn perhaps three hundred dollars, but 
she must lead a dog's life for a month and a half to 
do it. 

" Certain industries at Smith follow the season of 
the year. The approach of Christmas is announced 
by the tempting articles on the bulletin boards of the 
little salesroom in the gymnasium. Curious signs 
appear also in the college dormitories. But the occu- 
pations they imply are not taken seriously by the self- 
supporting girl whose financial difficulties are chronic. 
They are rather the devices of light-hearted girls 
suffering from the temporary lack of money incident 
to the end of the term. 

" Socially, the democracy of any woman's college 
is in excellent running order, and the working girl 
starts out on an equality with her richest neighbors. 
The self-supporting girl, unless she is hopelessly dull 
or repellent, finds herself, without an effort, eligible 
to all the pleasures of her companions, practically 
as well as theoretically. At least she is an object of 
interest. If she is personally attractive, the fact of 
her supporting herself is a sure password to social 
advancement — to the presidency of classes perhaps,, 

[269] 



Working Ones Way Through College 

to the best societies, and to an enviable state of re- 
spectful popularity. 

" The comparative simplicity of amusements in a 
woman's college also contributes directly to the happi- 
ness of the poor girl. There are no expensive clubs 
to point the difference between her and her more 
favored classmate. A great financial display is not 
yet the fashion at any of the colleges for girls, and 
their wildest extravagance would seem economy to 
some of the richest college men. . . . Fashion too 
comes to the rescue of the poor college girl. A man 
student without a dress-suit at certain evening func- 
tions is an obvious impropriety. But dress-suits are 
an impossible luxury to the man who can scarcely 
pay for the bread he eats. The college girl is given 
more latitude in the style of her gown. She can make 
ingenuity do duty for dollars, and, arrayed in a ten- 
cent lawn at an evening party, can hold her own with 
the girl in a gown imported from Paris. 

" Still, self-support and even self-help in college 
imply disadvantages. The girl working her way must 
give most of her recreation hours and part of her 
study-time as well to making money. If the student 
has a wide margin of strength, and can burn her candle 
at both ends without exhausting it, she may pull 
through the year in safety. But the student who has 
not this physical elasticity is likely to carry through 
the rest of her life the effect of the overstrain of her 
college years. 

" Self-support presses less heavily on the average 
college man than on the average college woman, partly 
because he has a greater reserve of physical strength 

[ 270 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

to draw on, partly because, by virtue of long cen- 
turies of inheritance, he takes more kindly to re- 
sponsibility. 

" A substitute for college self-support, with strong 
recommendations in its favor, is the method of work- 
ing while you work and learning while you learn. 

" Oftentimes self-support is such a series of strug- 
gles that, viewed from a larger knowledge of the 
world, a college education bought at such a price 
seems scarcely worth while. But students who can 
look back on a finished course, and even those who are 
in the midst of the struggle, can never be brought to 
acknowledge such heresy. They are unanimously 
thankful to have a college education at any cost." 



[ 271 ] 



CHAPTER XX 

CHOICE OF A COLLEGE, AND COLLEGE 
ATMOSPHERES 

A high heart is a sacrifice to Heaven. 

THE important matter of the choice of a col- 
lege should be decided largely according to 
the future aims of the individual, if he is able 
to have any considerable option. If one wishes 
to study a specialty he must, of course, seek an 
institution in which that is taught, but since his 
specialty may be taught in many institutions he 
again has to consider other elements. 

One should not permit the size and national 
fame of a particular college or university to lead 
him to ignore the fact that there are other mat- 
ters to be weighed in the decision. He will not 
obtain all advantages in any one school; he may 
do best at a large college and he may do best at 
a small one. There are many factors to be con- 
sidered. There are certain very great advantages 
in attending a small college, such as closer per- 
sonal relations with teachers and with fellow 

[ 272] 



Working One's Way Through College 

pupils, receiving more attention to one's person- 
ality, more aid in self-development, than in an 
institution where students are numbered by hun- 
dreds or thousands. 

There is, of course, for the student of lim- 
ited means, an economic advantage in attending a 
college in one's own State or neighborhood. Rail- 
road fares have to be considered. 

A degree from a particular institution may 
have a special value in a given occupation or 
profession. The college or university with the 
greatest prestige of that kind should therefore 
be chosen, if possible, by the one who aims at a 
specialty. 

It is further worth considering that you are 
aiming not only to get through college but to be 
established afterwards, and that certain institu- 
tions, such as Harvard, have an organization 
whose object it is to help graduates to get started 
in life. 

Where one seeks training rather than a spe- 
cialty or a degree of particular weight, it is best, 
in general, to select the nearest good college and 
cast in your lot with that. 

As to the influence upon one's choice that may 
arise from more or less opportunities to earn his 
way while at college, it is to be remembered that 

[273 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

while chances to obtain remunerative employment 
in the small college are fewer, the expenses are 
also much lower. A few dollars earned under 
such conditions will go farther under the same 
conditions. On the other hand, the colleges that 
stand in great cities give the widest field for self- 
support, but living expenses are proportionably 
increased. 

All such matters should be weighed with care 
and with due consideration of all the data you 
can obtain by conversation and by correspondence. 

There are other things to be considered also, 
according to one's tastes, aspirations, plans, and 
nature. You are making a life and building a 
personality. You admire and wish to be a man 
or woman of a certain type, perhaps. If pos- 
sible, you should choose the college that, at least 
in a general way, so far as you know it, tends 
most effectively to fulfil your ideals. 

There is a very considerable difference in col- 
lege atmospheres. Different institutions tend to 
produce different types of men and women. 

It is very difficult to define just what the 
differences of college atmospheres are ; yet these 
exist and are recognizable. If one is fairly famil- 
iar with the various colleges and has some acute- 
ness of perception he can place the men he meets, 

[ 274< ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

so far as their alma maters are concerned, with 
considerable accuracy. 

It is by no means difficult, of course, to dis- 
tinguish the residents of various parts of our coun- 
try by accent or by manners. It requires little 
perception to tell a Southerner from a Northern- 
er, an Easterner from a Westerner. It is slightly 
more difficult, but still possible, to distinguish a 
New Englander who has lived in Ohio for twenty- 
five years from a New Englander who has remained 
at home. It is easy to tell an inhabitant of New 
Orleans from a dweller in San Francisco, to dis- 
tinguish a Chicagoan from a Bostonian, or a St. 
Louisian from a Cincinnatian. It is slightly more 
difficult to distinguish a Philadelphian from a 
Baltimorean, or a New Yorker from a Bostonian. 

It is more difficult, however, to distinguish the 
atmospheres of the colleges, or, to change the 
figure, the stamps they make upon their students, 
yet there are differences. One might fancy this 
would be relatively easy if all students at each col- 
lege belonged by rearing to its locality. But the 
point is to distinguish a Californian who has been 
graduated at Yale from one who has studied at 
Stanford University ; yet this can be done. There 
are differences of type between the graduates of 
Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Ann 

[275 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Arbor, Washington and Jefferson, the University 
of Virginia, and the rest. These are matters of 
atmosphere. 

A noted Harvard professor used to say to his 
students, " College education gives three things — 
character, culture, and scholarship ; and the small- 
est of these is scholarship." Now the college gives 
character and culture, and it gives the kind of char- 
acter and of culture that it possesses ; this 
character and this culture are resultants of the his- 
tory and traditions of the institution, and of the 
individualities and attainments of its teachers and 
pupils past and present. Each college may be 
said to have its own individuality, and this indi- 
viduality is impressed more or less on its students. 
One can readily appreciate this by illustration, 
thus : students who sat under the lectures of John 
Ruskin, at Oxford University, could scarcely fail 
to become more interested in art than would stu- 
dents who attended a school when art, if presented 
at all, was presented less impressively. One who 
had sat under Matthew Arnold's instructions in 
English could scarcely fail to evidence his training 
by increased interest in letters. In some degree 
this principle of the impress of the professor upon 
the student would be true anywhere, according to 
the forcefulness of the teacher. 

[276] 



Working One's Way Through College 

I am not undertaking to present a perfect 
analysis of the atmospheres of the several colleges, 
but to indicate in a suggestive way something con- 
cerning these different atmospheres for the pros- 
pective student's benefit. It will be sufficient if 
his attention is called to the existence of these 
differences in some general way. Then he can 
work out the details for himself and make his 
choice. On so subtle a matter the writer should 
not be blamed overmuch if his information and im- 
pressions are not entirely accurate. 

With these qualifications, I venture to suggest 
something in regard to the varying atmospheres 
of several of the important institutions of learning. 
Broadly speaking, it may be ventured that the 
University of Virginia impresses upon its students 
a subdued gentleness, combined with cordiality of 
manner and an open-hearted yet somewhat proud 
bearing; it makes " gentlemen of the old school," 
very polite to women, and with a tinge of feminin- 
ity in themselves, perhaps. Johns Hopkins im- 
parts an interest in science and a cosmopolitan 
spirit. Princeton men acquire a certain dignity 
of bearing and a rather precise style of utterance ; 
they are apt to be more interested in philosophy 
than science, and are not given to emotionalism; 
their traditions are strongly patriotic. 

[ 277] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The Harvard man carries with him an air of as- 
surance that he has been properly instructed, at 
the very best source of teaching, that he has been 
stamped like sterling silver or high-grade china, 
and need not vex himself in regard to his position 
in the world. The Yale man is apt to be a trifle ag- 
gressive, and to carry a feeling that his University 
has no rival except Harvard. The Yale and Har- 
vard men of the elder generation may be freely 
granted, without envy, to bear the impress of con- 
siderably stronger character and riper culture 
than the men of almost any other universities in 
our land. The newer men can not be said to have 
any unquestionable advantage, since many other 
colleges are now far more richly equipped than 
they were a generation ago. It may be remarked 
in general that the students who have come from 
the more crowded institutions — say, where there 
have been a thousand students — have a certain 
swing and freedom of manner that indicate they 
have been part of a multitude; while the men who 
have mingled with only two or three hundred stu- 
dents are apt to be slightly less at ease with all 
classes of men. 

West of the Alleghenies, a college like Wash- 
ington and Jefferson, established in 1802 when 
the West was beginning to be won, makes its 

f 278 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

students somewhat more of the stamp we are accus- 
tomed to call American ; they are apt to be a trifle 
more brusque, emphatic, and more American. 
There remains there something more of the pioneer 
spirit; also passionate love of knowledge for its 
own sake, reverence for education, and a republi- 
can freedom. Blaine was a representative of this 
type though he spent a large part of his life in 
Maine; he would not have been mistaken, by ob- 
servers of types in our land, for a graduate of an 
Eastern university. 

If, out of the youths of Ohio, one attends school 
at Princeton, another at Miami University, and an- 
other at Wooster, one who would observe the three 
would be able to understand something of the 
meaning of college atmospheres. The Princeton 
boy acquires a certain dignity of bearing, slightly 
of the clerical type, yet with a certain breadth of 
feeling and of manner. Part of this influence 
must be set down, however, to the fact that the 
youth who has gone from Ohio to Princeton has 
knocked about on numerous small journeys to and 
fro, has come in contact with New York and Phila- 
delphia, has seen much of intercollegiate games, 
and has mingled with students gathered from many 
parts of our country. The young man who at- 
tends Miami University, if he is a native of Ohio, 

[ 279 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

has only short journeys, mixes largely with Ohio 
men, and is not thrust into a great crowd; yet he 
feels the force of the neighborhood of leadership; 
he realizes that his university is a producer to 
some degree of national men like Benjamin Harri- 
son and Whitelaw Reid. He is in the midst of the 
new centre of national life; Ohio's roll of soldiers 
and statesmen reacts upon its university life. 
These students are likely to be ambitious men, 
looking upon all things as possible for them, and 
having a large faith in the future. They are 
interested also in American history ; they are away 
from the influence of English university life more 
than students in the East are. The students at 
Wooster get a good, broad, sound quality of cul- 
ture; Wooster was profoundly impressed by the 
influence of Dr. Sylvester Scovel, for some years 
its president and then one of its leading teachers, 
who was one of the most superbly cultivated gen- 
tlemen and scholars in America ; Wooster has also 
been vitalized and energized by its remarkable 
present head, Dr. Holden. 

When we consider General Grant as an Ohio 
product, and recall the cast of the man and his 
language, we feel at once that his atmosphere 
was not that of any of our colleges, but that of 
the military academy at West Point. When we 

[ 280 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

consider Garfield, we find in him something different 
from the product of the Ohio college of his time; 
we find in him much that belonged to the small but 
distinguished and individual Williams College of 
the time of Mark Hopkins. 

In the great Western colleges, which are numer- 
ous and remarkably flourishing, the conditions are 
largely different from those in the East, and some 
of the advantages are very great. The Eastern 
colleges were at their foundation patterned 
after the English colleges and universities, 
but our Western colleges were most of 
them mere schools at first, and they have 
had a natural growth along broader lines and 
have been adapted to changing needs. The 
Eastern colleges have had a tendency, as we 
have indicated, to form types that are scarcely 
continentally American. The fact should be rec- 
ognized that the Western colleges, in general, tend 
to create a thoroughly American manhood, and 
do not form hard and fast types. The time is dis- 
tinctly past when the rich Western youth need 
feel that in order to be in touch with the world he 
must cross the continent and attend one of the 
large Eastern universities. In the great institu- 
tions in his own part of the country he can obtain 
all that can be gotten in the East and something 

[281 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

else that can not be obtained there, for they have 
developed advantages peculiarly their own. 

In the Western colleges, on account of their 
relative newness, the types are not yet so distinctly 
marked ; and it is to be hoped that they never will 
go to extremes in this direction. There is to be 
found more heartiness of manner ; the students are 
all friendly ; no hard lines are drawn, but all meet 
on a common level ; there is not so much of family 
distinction as in the East ; all are willing to take 
a man for what he is worth. In dress and appear- 
ance many compare well with students in the East ; 
there are numerous rich youths, yet the majority 
do not spend money as many do at large Eastern 
universities. 

The University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, is 
very democratic. There are no clubs that have 
precedence; the independents manage the school, 
although there are eighteen general fraternities, 
besides many women's societies and professional 
societies. A man may forge ahead in college poli- 
tics as he would in State politics. To be a frater- 
nity man there gives no weight in college politics. 
The daily paper is in the hands of the independ- 
ents. The professors are a well-dressed and 
fine-looking set of men. The college men are gen- 
erally as well dressed as those in Eastern schools, 

[ 282 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

possibly better. There is not much historic col- 
lege spirit ; most of the students know little of the 
history or traditions of the University, and many 
of them hardly know that there is a ball team. 
This is a remarkably cosmopolitan institution. 
The students are as widely distributed as in any 
university in the country, and all classes are rep- 
resented, both rich and poor. There is at this 
school a decided air of elegance ; but there is not so 
distinctive a mark in some other "respects as in the 
old Eastern schools, where students and teachers 
are largely of the Eastern type. This was the first 
great school in the country to introduce the elec- 
tive system as it is used in Germany. 

The University of Wisconsin may be said to be 
in a sense a Yankee school in the West. It has 
very rapidly become one of the very strongest 
institutions in the country. It is developing 
Yankee ideas with Western push and life. The 
names of President Van Hise and Professor Ely 
are sufficient to indicate something of its status. 
The fraternity spirit there is active. In history 
and political economy Wisconsin is especially 
strong. 

The University of Chicago, with the impress 
received from the late President Harper, one of 
the best educators in the country ; the Universities 

[ 283 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

of Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas, are all marked 
schools, while the University of California ranks 
with the Universities of Minnesota and Michigan. 
The Leland Stanford Jr. University, with its Pres- 
ident, David Starr Jordan, stands apart from 
many other schools on a basis of wealth. It is hav- 
ing a remarkable career, and doubtless will have 
an extraordinary future. 

These Western institutions are likely to develop 
characteristics peculiar to themselves. At present 
the Western university is like the West itself, — 
fluctuating and changing. It is quite probable 
that the Western institutions have a larger pro- 
portion of earnest students than are to be found in 
Eastern schools ; in the East a certain percentage 
of students go to college for diversion, but most 
Western students have a life plan and purpose. 

The university of the West may be declared 
to be in a special sense the university of the 
future. Already the cosmopolitan brand of the 
University of Michigan carries a distinction 
among knowing people that is quite equal to that 
of Yale, Harvard, or Princeton. The elderly man 
in the Middle West tells you with pride, that he 
is a graduate of Yale ; the man of middle life in 
the same region tells you with greater pride that 
he has the diploma of the University of Michigan. 

[284] 



Working One's Way Through College 

It seems to us, though the proposition would prob- 
ably be widely disputed, that the Western uni- 
versity man has that great thing, modernity, above 
the Eastern graduate. Many people are of this 
opinion, and we are already in the midst of a time 
when students from the West are not attending 
Eastern schools except for specific ends that can 
not be attained elsewhere. Students in the Middle 
West are turning their faces toward the great in- 
stitutions that lie in the direction of the Pacific. 

The college atmosphere thus indicated re- 
mains with men to a large degree throughout life. 
Napoleon never lost the brand of the Brienne 
school ; the mark of the great English universities 
is found on men of all professions in Great Brit- 
ain, and in ten thousand English books, upon the 
editorial pages of great English dailies, and in 
reviews and magazines. 

In our country, particularly in the smaller col- 
leges, the influence of one professor who has trav- 
elled or studied abroad, is felt throughout the 
institution. Since the students are under the 
influence of these institutions during their most 
impressionable and formative period, and since 
they are to bear the mark and carry the atmos- 
phere of their schools during life, as surely as 
the man born in a log cabin carries that stamp 

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Working One's Way Through College 

always, and the man born in a palace carries that 
influence, it is of the highest importance that the 
culture imparted should be of the highest possible 
kind, and that the character formed should be 
after a noble pattern. As Matthew Arnold has 
told us that progress consists in the predomi- 
nance of the metropolitan over the provincial 
spirit, it should be seen to that no provincial 
spirit is found in any of our colleges. It should 
be remembered that the provincialisms of New 
Haven or of Princeton are no more admirable or 
worthy of perpetuation than the provincialisms 
of Hanover or De Pauw. It should not be that an 
American can be distinguished by Americanisms, 
nor that the Chicagoan should talk Chicagoese or 
the Bostonian Bostonese. Neither in college life 
should it be that one carry with him a provincial 
brand ; college life should be made more and more 
to conform to a higher type. If, as the profes- 
sor said, character and culture are more than 
scholarship, it should not be forgotten that the 
former two should be of nothing lower than a 
metropolitan type. 

Progress in this direction is being brought 
about as the several institutions of learning are 
being provided more liberally with money. Pro- 
fessors are able to travel more than in former 

[ 286] 



Working One's Way Through College 

days. The lesser teachers come more in con- 
tact with the superior ones, and tend to absorb 
their culture. The time of the Porsons is gone ; the 
day of the elegant Arnolds and Ruskins is here. 

A better spirit, the national and metropol- 
itan spirit, can be furthered among the students 
themselves. It is being so furthered by intercol- 
legiate associations. As the " home staying youth 
has ever homely wits," so the college boy who knows 
only his own college has ever something provincial 
about his wits. The 'varsity men who have been 
much on Manhattan field, or other arenas for in- 
tercollegiate meets, have most of the metropolitan 
spirit. 

Since character and culture are the chief out- 
come of college life, the social influences around 
the student should be of the best. Manners, dress, 
address, style, should be emphasized. The knowl- 
edge of the best that has been done and thought 
in the world should be imparted. The characters 
formed should be of a noble, magnanimous, gener- 
ous, gentlemanly, and manly type. The college 
atmosphere should be one to be gladly carried 
through life, rather than one to be gotten rid of as 
life proceeds. 



[287] 



CHAPTER XXI 

VALUE OF A COLLEGE DEGREE 

Work with steady, conscientious persistence, deter- 
mined to make the most of the opportunities offered 
each day. 

THE youth who is hesitating whether or no to 
attempt to make his own way through col- 
lege is apt to be affected somewhat by seeing men 
who have no formal education succeed in making 
money and filling useful positions. He asks 
if a degree after all has any real value. It would 
be folly to discourage one who has no possible 
chance to go to college and make him feel that he 
must therefore fail. No one questions that many 
men have succeeded, and many will succeed in the 
future, without the help of colleges. 

Nevertheless the college-bred man, other things 
being equal, will stand a better chance of success 
than the one without this help. But the doubter 
may incline to question not so much the worth of 
the training he may get at college as the utility 

[288 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

of the actual degree conferred. Would he not be 
as well off practically if he took three years at 
college as if he took four and received a diploma? 
We would not discourage the man who is com- 
pelled to stop before graduation; he has gotten 
something from one year or two years or three 
years at college. 

Yet the diploma, the graduating degree, has 
itself a tangible value. For instance, an in- 
creasingly large number of employers want col- 
lege men for certain positions. They want men 
who have not only been at college but who have 
completed their course; sometimes they also have 
prejudices in favor of men from a particular col- 
lege or from a college of a certain standing; this 
matter may be decided sometimes without large 
information as to the numerous colleges and on 
the basis of the one or few institutions they may 
happen to be familiar with. They want a man 
who has finished his course, on the principle 
that the man who has stopped before graduation 
may have proved weak or incapable, though he may 
have been hindered by circumstances most honor- 
able to himself, such as sacrificing his career to 
the support of parents. 

The degree, then, is seen to have an actual value 
in the market, whether justly or no. It helps to 

[ 289 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

give one a start. It stands for a certain amount of 
work done and of pluck proved. 

Consider, then, the answer to the question, 
What good does it do to be able to write " A.B." 
or " A.M." or " Ph.D.," or still further, " D.D." 
or " Lit.D." after one's name? Of course, one is 
not necessarily a success because he has this privi- 
lege ; yet these capital letters indicate certain at- 
tainments and carry real usefulness, value, and 
honor. This value is sometimes overlooked, and 
the degrees are thought of as meaningless or worth- 
less. On the other hand, they may be exaggerated 
and considered ends in themselves. One can not 
go through the world trusting wholly to the fact 
that he is a Bachelor, a Master, or a Doctor, any 
more than he can ask the world for a living be- 
cause he is a colonel or a general. Nevertheless, 
these titles do carry distinction and value. 

The conferring of scholarly degrees by colleges 
and universities originated in the universities of 
the Middle Ages, and for a long time carried with 
them the right and indeed the obligation to teach. 

The degrees are now divided into two classes, 
those that are earned by courses of study and those 
that are honorary, given to those who have attained 
a certain distinction. Certain of these degrees 
may be given either as earned or honorary degrees. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

The degrees are broadly divided into Bacca- 
laureates, Masterships, and Doctorates. 

There are three hundred institutions of learning 
in the United States that have the legal right to 
confer these ; in Germany there are twenty-one uni- 
versities, and in Great Britain still fewer that have 
this privilege. The Baccalaureates are given upon 
graduation from a college; the Masterships are 
granted after further study; and the Doctorates 
bestowed after still longer pursuit of knowledge. 

These may all be granted as honorary degrees, 
though it is a very rare thing that one is made a 
bachelor of arts without actual resident work at a 
college. 

A more or less successful effort has been made 
for some years by the Federation of Graduate 
Clubs to persuade educational authorities to cease 
giving the same degrees as both honorary and 
earned ones. The Federation claims that the de- 
grees of doctor of philosophy, doctor of science, 
and doctor of medicine should never be conferred as 
honorary ones, nor without actual resident study 
at an institution of learning ; and that the degrees 
of doctor of the more humane letters, doctor of 
divinity, doctor of law, doctor of civil law, and 
doctor of music should be universally recognized 
as entirely honorary degrees. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

In Europe certain of the degrees carry with them 
a fixed social rank. In Germany, during the Mid- 
dle Ages, a doctor of law enjoyed the same privi- 
lege as knights and prelates, and in that country 
still the doctor is before the untitled nobility and 
next to the knight. But in America the matter of 
rank does not enter into the consideration. 

In certain of our States, applicants for admis- 
sion to the bar find their way easier if they can 
point to a degree. Certain churches require that 
their clergy have the diploma of a college. 

The degree of doctor of philosophy is particu- 
larly valuable in the teaching profession, in obtain- 
ing positions in certain schools ; but as this degree 
may be obtained from institutions of little stand- 
ing and without special courses of study, examin- 
ing boards for schools have now begun to inquire 
from what institution it is derived, and by what 
course of. work. Those who have gained it by 
non-resident work or from some doubtful institu- 
tion are rated lower in chances for schools than 
those who possess the honor from a first-rate in- 
stitution after hard work. 

The colleges have become more and more careful 
in the granting of honorary degrees, and statistics 
show that the average for the three hundred insti- 
tutions in America which have the legal right to 

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Working One's Way Through College 

confer these is not two persons per year for each 
college. 

The degrees give, or add to, professional stand- 
ing. They have something of social worth. 
Certain of them have practical value. 

A considerable number of our educational insti- 
tutions have been so impressed by the cheapening 
of the honorary degrees by too frequent granting 
of them that they have ceased to give them. Others 
have been so economical of these gifts as to 
distribute them only once or twice in a decade. 

Practically and actually, the young man or 
woman will find the college diploma, the A.B. 
degree, of utility in getting a start in life. 



[293 ] 



CHAPTER XXII 

GREEK LETTER SOCIETIES AS HELPS 

Difficulties and discouragements all have to en- 
counter ; but meeting the one with intelligence and the 
other with confidence, we should press resolutely for- 
ward to the approaching goal. 

IT is not every college student who can or should 
join a Greek Letter Society, but such as do so 
may find them helpful in a great many ways. The 
self-supporting student who is hard-driven for even 
a few dollars should not undertake the additional 
expense of belonging to one of these fraternities ; 
but such students as find themselves able to obtain 
remunerative work and to perform it sufficiently 
to get a few dollars ahead, and so be able to pay 
the fraternity fees, should consider the value to 
them of uniting with a fraternity. 

If the self-supporting student has a good start 
in money-making and sees that he can reasonably 
expect to pay his share of fees in a fraternity, 
lie will, by joining one, bind himself closely to a 
group of fraternity brothers who will help him 

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Working One's Way Through College 

in many ways. He should not go in on a charity 
basis ; better stay outside than do that ; let him 
preserve his independence at all costs. The ex- 
penses of each member of a fraternity, unless it be 
in some one of the large Eastern universities, are 
not very great ; the initiation fee is generally ten 
dollars ; the monthly fee is usually a couple of dol- 
lars ; the badge costs from five dollars up. Most 
of the chapters of the leading fraternities have now 
their own houses, either owned or rented, and the 
self-supporting student can in many cases become 
the care-taker of such a house or rooms, thus get 
his lodging, and perhaps more. 

His fraternity brothers, aware of his needs, will 
in general make a point of putting remunerative 
work into his hands so far as they have oppor- 
tunity. While the spirit of certain colleges is 
against the fraternities, in most of them the fra- 
ternity man has certain marked advantages. The 
old-time gulf between fraternity and non-fraternity 
men is not so wide as it used to be, and the non- 
fraternity men are not socially ignored as for- 
merly; still the fraternities have much influence. 
One gains by membership in a good organization 
of this kind. He is no longer isolated, but is a 
recognized part of an important group. 

Besides the purely selfish side which we have so 

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Working One's Way Through College 

far considered, the generous-minded youth is 
sure also to have other motives in associating him- 
self with the fraternity. He will give friendship as 
well as receive it, will take pride in keeping up the 
good name of his fraternity by care in his own 
conduct, and will help his fellow-members in other 
ways, even though as one of limited means he can 
not add much in the way of money. 

It is to be remembered that these college frater- 
nities, which announce themselves to the world by 
means of badges of gold bearing two or three 
Greek letters, as the initials of mottoes known only 
to the initiated, are to-day one of the chief factors 
in undergraduate life. Mr. James Bryce, in his 
book " The American Commonwealth," declares 
them to be " one of the most peculiar and interest- 
ing institutions in American universities." They 
have had now a history in the United States of 
more than one hundred years. 

These fraternities were preceded in the colleges 
by the strictly literary societies, which have con- 
tinued to exist side by side with them, but which 
in most institutions have decreased gradually in in- 
fluence, while the Greek letter societies have 
steadily grown in vogue. The earliest of these 
clubs was established at William and Mary's Col- 
lege, at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1776, then one 

[ 296] 



Working One's Way Through College 

of the most prominent institutions of learning in 
our land. This was called the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society. It soon established seven other chapters, 
and then the mother chapter ceased for a time to 
exist. Most of these early chapters have also now 
gone out of existence, and the fraternity is now an 
honorary one. It was not until about 1825 that 
similar organizations began to multiply, by imita- 
tion of their original. 

These societies thus antedate all other secret 
organizations in America, with the exception of the 
Masonic order. The purely literary societies have 
badges, the idea of which, as well as that of the 
badges of the Greek letter societies, was doubtless 
derived from the badge-wearing habit of the 
Masons and the custom of foreign decorations. 
Since the Greek letter badges were at first large, 
and were strung around the neck, we may presume 
that their originators were influenced by having 
seen similar decorations worn in a similar way by 
members of foreign orders; for the wearing of a 
badge suspended about the neck is a distinction 
granted only to the officers of certain orders. The 
Phi Beta Kappa badge was originally a slab of 
silver, with the letters engraved, not enamelled or 
raised. 

All the college fraternities originally professed 

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Working One's Way Through College 

to be of a literary character, and this tradition is 
still maintained, but in fact this feature is entirely 
subordinate to the social. The purely literary 
societies of the colleges used, and still use, Latin 
for mottoes and titles of officers. The founders of 
the secret fraternities chose Greek words and let- 
ters for their use, and nearly all the fraternities 
to-day continue this practice, although a few have 
departed from it and call their officers by Latin 
names ; and in two or three notable instances they 
do not use Greek letters on their badges. We know 
no reason why Greek letters were chosen except 
that the Greek language is generally known only 
by college men, and the characters are therefore 
less commonplace than the Roman Alphabet. The 
"ABC Society " would not seem so imposing as 
the " Alpha Beta Gamma Club." The sound of 
the chosen symbols is imposing, the characters are 
unfamiliar to the average man, and thus mystery 
and secrecy are suggested. 

These fraternities are the only organizations in 
America in which the Greek language is used for 
mottoes and titles ; all the officers in most of these 
societies being designated by Greek names. The 
letters used as the title of each society are the 
initial letters of the motto of the same, and the 
syllables that once were upon the tongues of 

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Working One's Way Through College 

brilliant Athenians now become to college youths 
significant of their pledges of loyalty to their par- 
ticular group of fellow-students. The badges are 
all emblematic and are in their various parts signi- 
ficant of some truth, sentiment, or vow. The 
scroll, chain, skull, cross, or whatever object is 
wrought into the shape of the badge or impressed 
upon it, has a special meaning to the initiated. 
Most of the badges are attractive in appearance 
and artistic in design. 

The badges exhibit considerable variety, being 
of many shapes and patterns ; there are crosses, 
diamonds, squares, scrolls, keys, and other forms 
in use, but generally they are either shields or 
crosses of some variety, indicating that the Eng- 
lish family coats of arms, usually shield-shaped, 
have had some influence in suggesting designs. The 
cost of the badges is anywhere from three dollars 
up to one hundred, and beyond that if richly 
adorned with precious stones. Their surfaces are 
often enamelled either black or white and the 
letters are nearly always done in enamelling. 

Every such fraternity has its own place for its 
secret sessions, either a rented house or rooms 
fitted up for the uses of the society, or, as at the 
larger colleges, a hall erected by the chapter and 
called a lodge or fraternity house. Where the 

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Working One's Way Through College 

students are able to erect fraternity houses these 
structures are often very tasteful and elegant. 
The former custom of keeping the place and time 
of meeting secret has passed away ; the sessions 
are no longep liable to disturbance or in fear of 
spies and eavesdroppers as at one time. 

The headquarters of the fraternities are usually 
in large cities, several of them being in New York. 
Formerly these organizations were governed by 
the oldest or else the largest chapter, but now they 
are controlled by a council or senate, composed 
entirely of graduate members. A biennial or 
triennial meeting of each society, composed of 
delegates from the college chapters, is held for 
the purpose of effecting any desired changes and 
enacting rules and laws. These are managed ex- 
clusively by undergraduates. The expenses of the 
societies are provided for by initiation fees, an- 
nual dues, and voluntary contributions. The gifts 
are sometimes considerable, coming chiefly from 
graduate members who have made money and have 
continued to take an interest in the associations 
of their college days. The fraternities maintain 
expensive establishments, give dinners, and pub- 
lish catalogues, quarterlies, magazines and other 
matter pertaining to their interests. 

Several of the larger societies maintain costly 

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Working One's Way Through College 

club-houses in New York and other cities, which are 
centres of social life for the members who are resi- 
dents and for visiting members from all parts of 
the country. These provide pleasant quarters for 
visitors, lodging, and meals, and serve the general 
purposes of a club-house. The stranger in a 
great city, coming properly equipped with his 
membership card, may find a temporary home 
for himself among men of his own college fra- 
ternity. 

Chapters of each of the various Greek letter 
societies exist in many colleges, sometimes a dozen 
different ones being represented at a single insti- 
tution. The fraternities have from half a dozen to 
seventy or a hundred chapters each at as many 
institutions of learning. Some are strong in the 
West, and others are largely confined to the East 
or to the South; a few, however, reach over the 
entire country. 

Some of these societies pledge their members 
never to join any similar college organization, and 
membership is expected to extend throughout the 
period of student life, and to continue thereafter. 
Yale and Harvard and one other are the only uni- 
versities in which there are class organizations ; 
there one may pass from one society to another 
according to his class. There exist, however, at 

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Working Ones Way Through College 

the same universities other societies in which the 
membership is permanent. 

At Princeton, notably, the fraternities no longer 
exist, they having been successfully outlawed there 
many years ago. They are forbidden also by the 
laws of a few other colleges, chiefly in those under 
denominational control. 

There are altogether about thirty-five general 
Greek letter societies in the classical schools for 
young men ; there are seventeen for young women ; 
there are twenty general medical fraternities and 
seven legal fraternities. There are also a number 
of local fraternities, societies with only one chap- 
ter. Probably half of the students in the institu- 
tions in which secret fraternities exist are in their 
membership. The Greek letter societies in the 
United States have a membership of more than one 
hundred thousand, with more than six hundred and 
fifty active chapters and three hundred and fifty 
inactive chapters. They own about one hundred 
houses or halls in various college towns and cities. 

Something can be said both for and against 
• these organizations. They are frequently accused 
of engendering party spirit. There is some envy 
and bickering between the members of different 
groups. Students who fail to be invited to join 
a fraternity are likely to feel slighted and ignored. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

The fraternities are accused of diminishing the col- 
lege spirit. 

Yet, some kind of grouping of the students, ac- 
cording to abilities, skill in athletics, social gifts, 
or wealth, is inevitable. A newcomer who joins a 
fraternity gains a speedy entrance into a group 
of friends who make him feel at home. His new 
friends post him as to college ways, admonish him 
as to possible mistakes. He is likely to make fast 
friends with at least some men of his clique, and if 
they are valuable men this proves a great help. 
The fraternity men are likely to be careful of their 
conduct for the honor of their group. By such 
associations youths frequently have their ambi- 
tions stimulated; they profit by intimacy with 
men of social polish and good attainments. 

The new student should not show his anxiety, if 
he feels such, to join a fraternity. This comes by 
favor and not by evident seeking. The new stu- 
dents are all under inspection by the older men, 
who are on the lookout for suitable persons, or 
those they consider such according to their stand- 
ards, to be recommended for election to this or 
that fraternity. New men are watched, discussed, 
and their strong points are discovered and their 
weak ones considered. The new man should be 
neither too gushing nor too shy, but should meet 

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Working One's Way Through College 

all others in a cordial manner and attend strictly 
to his own affairs. The fraternities do all the 
courting. Some students go up to school recom- 
mended by letter from alumni to their brethren in 
a given fraternity ; the new student is not supposed 
to be aware of this fact; if he does know of it, it 
does not alter his relations with the fraternity 
receiving the letter until that society makes the 
first move. Such letters are not always acted 
upon. The newcomer also has his preferences ; the 
local chapter of even a fraternity of national 
standing may be at a particular time made up of 
inferior men ; the several chapters usually are com- 
posed of kindred spirits, and the new student will 
desire to consort with his own kind, or with men of 
like tastes, and so he should not be in haste lest by 
joining a group he does not care for, he is worse 
off than if he had remained outside all. 

When one has been invited to join a particular 
fraternity and finds the men congenial, he should, 
if his funds are limited, ask about probable ex- 
penses before he takes a further step. If he is 
dependent on self-support he should let that fact 
be known, not as asking any favors but to inform 
his prospective fraternity brothers of the state 
of his pocket, that they may not expect more of 
him than he can do. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

It used to be that it was considered desirable to 
keep secret for a time the fact that a new man had 
been pledged to a given society and to let others 
invite him also; and it was thought an honor to 
have been sought by several fraternities. This is 
now considered dishonorable, and a pledge button, 
or the colors of the society, are given to any one 
who has promised to unite with a society; thus 
before initiation all others are notified that he 
is a pledged man. This fact shows an advance 
in moral ideas over those in vogue some years 
ago. 

Occasionally, when the overlooked men, those 
who have not been invited to join any fraternity 
existing at a given college, find that none of the 
established societies in that place is likely to invite 
them to be part of their organization, they 
make overtures to societies without a chapter in 
that school, and form a new chapter for them- 
selves. Again, if that method fails, they some- 
times create a new local fraternity. For this and 
other reasons these societies have multiplied. As 
the principle of selecting only those men who are 
considered the most desirable from the point of 
view of the existing chapter necessarily keeps the 
membership of each chapter relatively small 
numerically, there is sometimes good reason for 

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Working One's Way Through College 

the formation of other fraternities to make room 
for more men within the circle of the Greeks. 

A large proportion of Greek letter men keep up 
their interest in their society throughout life. 
Graduate chapters of many of the societies exist 
in various cities, and old college friends, as well 
as those who have not common alma maters but 
only the fraternity tie, continue to carry out the 
programme of brotherhood begun at school. Thus 
the fraternity often becomes a life tie as well as a 
bond while at school. 

The social features of the Greek letter societies 
have reached the fullest development possible, as 
the fraternity men, to a large extent, lodge, eat, 
play, and study together. They have done away 
with the recluse character and isolation of the 
student life of former days. 

Thus it is evident that if the self-supporting 
student finds it possible to join a college fraternity 
he is quite certain to find in such a brotherhood 
friendly encouragement in his struggle, social 
solace and satisfaction, and men who will aid him 
in finding work and in carrying out his plans. 



[ 306 ] 



CHAPTER XXIII 

COLLEGE ATHLETICS 

It is young people of this type who accomplish 
greater things when their college days are over. 

THE day for the pallid and bent student to be 
admired is gone. The day when the " stu- 
dent's stoop " was considered a necessary accom- 
paniment of intellectuality is gone. The brow 
" sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought " is 
no longer sought after. The fashion of tan has 
come. It is realized that one will think, study, 
write, and do all kinds of mental work better if he 
is healthful. Red blood and sound nerves are 
necessary to sound thinking. So that students 
both in college and out are anxious to be and to 
seem robust. 

It used to be that when a college boy returned 
home, he was expected, by himself and by his 
family, to carry along the physical marks of hard 
study in the way of pallor, a stoop, and a gen- 
erally enervated condition. This much was ex- 
pected, even if he had not fainted dead away in 

[307] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the midst of his speech on Commencement Day, 
from the strain of prolonged work. 

All this has been changed. It is realized that it 
is not worth while to wreck a college student's 
health and send him out broken down and in- 
capable physically of taking up the duties which 
he had hoped to perform in after life. The test 
has been made, and it has been shown that the 
athletes are as good students as the non-exercising 
men, and that many of them are better ones. 
It has not been shown that the grade of any ath- 
lete is lower than it would have been if there were 
no such thing as a gymnasium. The mental work 
of the athletic man who trains with moderation 
is apt to be better than another's ; it is done with 
more ease, with less drain on the vital forces ; it is 
clearer and sounder, and it remains longer in the 
memory. 

The self-supporting student is interested in col- 
lege athletics from several points of view. He 
needs the physical benefits and pleasures. If he 
is an expert, or becomes so, or is specially power- 
ful in body, he may, under favorable conditions, 
find that his athletic prowess will be his simplest 
and most direct way toward self-support in col- 
lege. He may be able to turn his strength and 
skill in athletics into money by training others. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

The self-supporting student, or the prospective 
one, will therefore be interested in certain briefly 
stated facts in regard to college athletics. 

The object of the college course is manifestly 
to educate, to develop the powers, and to pre- 
pare for manful and successful struggle with the 
duties of mature life. To accomplish these ends, 
the body has to be maintained in good working 
order, made as strong as possible, and rendered 
an obedient servant to the will. The old method 
of education ignored too much the just demands 
of the body. The colleges turned out, in many in- 
stances, good students who were physical wrecks. 

In order to correct this evil and to maintain an 
equilibrium between mind and body, college athlet- 
ics have come into existence and have grown into 
one of the prominent features of modern university 
life. 

University athletics have a history of more than 
forty years in America. Their development within 
the last twenty years has been vast, and changes 
are constantly taking place. Interest in them in- 
creases from year to year. Prejudices are being 
overcome, and objections are being answered by 
statistics. 

College athletics consist of rowing, football, 
baseball, cricket, tennis, golf, bicycling, and track 

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Working One's Way Through College 

athletics. There are also gymnasium contests. 
Track athletics consist partly in Tunning races ; 
the distances are one hundred yards ; two hundred 
and twenty yards ; four hundred and forty yards. 
These also include hurdling, over distances of 
one hundred and twenty, and two hundred and 
and twenty yards ; four hundred and forty yards. 
The field events are high jumping, broad jumping, 
pole-vaulting, hammer-throwing, and shot-putting. 
The standing high and broad jumps were form- 
erly the fashion, but they are now done away with. 
They used to have tugs of war, but these have 
gone out. Pennsylvania University and Harvard 
have cricket. Golf has also been taken up by most 
of the Eastern colleges, and has become also an 
inter-collegiate sport. 

The track athletic contest always comes the 
last Saturday of May ; the Friday before that day 
is used as a day for picking the men, in order to 
limit the contest to the best men. The season 
for baseball contests is the spring, and there are 
usually two games played on each of the home 
grounds ; then one on neutral grounds. The foot- 
ball season opens a few days before the opening 
of the fall term of college and lasts until the Satur- 
day before Thanksgiving in some colleges, while 
others play on Thanksgiving Day. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

The tennis contests come off annually early in 
the fall. The gymnasium contests are held in all 
colleges ; the athletes of two universities have a 
contest in some large city convenient to both ; such 
contests include horizontal bar work, parallel bar 
work, tumbling, wrestling, fencing, and gymnastics 
generally. 

There are from twenty-five to forty representa- 
tives in intercollegiate contests, from all over the 
country. This variation depends on whether the 
colleges have good enough teams to send. Every 
college has to pay a certain fee in order to belong 
to the Intercollegiate Association. 

Training for the baseball contest begins at the 
university grounds about the middle of February ; 
the men train within walls, called a baseball cage ; 
this is about one hundred and twenty-five feet 
long by sixty wide. It has of course an earth 
floor; it is heated and kept habitable for the 
players in winter time; there they get general 
practice, pitching and practising with grounders. 
The football practice goes on continually in sea- 
son, regardless of the weather. 

All the track men begin light training in the 
gymnasium after the Christmas Holidays. Light 
training in the gymnasium is kept up every day 
until about the opening of spring; then, when the 

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Working One's Way Through College 

weather has become pleasant and the ground solid, 
they go into hard training for about two months. 

When under training, the students eat only at 
the training-table, where such food is provided for 
them as is allowed by their trainer. All fried 
foods are eliminated ; so are pork and pastries ; 
no tobacco is used during this time, nor alcoholic 
drinks ; only two glasses of any liquid are allowed 
each person at any one meal. The students go 
to bed early ; half-past ten or eleven o'clock is con- 
sidered the proper time. From one to three hours 
are daily required for training, and the length 
of time depends upon the kind of contest the man 
is to enter. If the captain discovers that a man is 
not keeping training, he will immediately eject 
him from the training-table and dismiss him from 
the team. 

In some of the colleges there are rules requiring 
students to do gymnastic work. The majority of 
students need no urging, and the gymnasiums are 
usually full from four to six o'clock. 

At all the large colleges, the great distinction 
in dress of the 'varsity man — that is, one who 
has won a point in the intercollegiate champion- 
ship track games or has played in the champion- 
ship baseball or football game or has been on 
the crew — is the monogram on his cap and the 

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Working One's Way Through College 

great privilege of wearing the initial letter of his 
university, in the college colors, on his sweater. 
The insignia on the cap indicate whether one is a 
football, baseball, or track man; those who have 
won them alone have the right and privilege of 
wearing these initials. 

The coaches in the large colleges are always 
graduates or former students of the colleges rep- 
resented. The trainers are men who are experts 
in their line, who make a business of training ; some 
of them have previously been noted athletes. 

The men are required by college law to have a 
standing above a certain grade in their studies 
before they are permitted to enter the contests at 
all. Some of the men during the active season of 
athletics have been noticed to stand better in their 
studies than even at other times ; this may be at- 
tributed to their time being limited so that they 
have to concentrate upon their work, as well as to 
the fact that good physical condition helps the 
mind. 

The spectators at the contests are men and 
women of the vicinity, woman friends and rela- 
tives of the students, professors and alumni, and 
people generally from everywhere who are inter- 
ested in games ; and these are gala scenes generally. 

College athletics improve the men physically. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

They have done away with a great deal of the so- 
called " sporting." Now that athletics have come 
in, the students look up to the champion athletes ; 
and enthusiasm over them is unbounded. 

College athletics give a discipline and self- 
mastery that are invaluable ; the students who take 
part persistently in these exercises are taught 
control of their appetites. The dietary regimen 
in the training season is strict, the hours for exer- 
cise are fixed and regular; the student is taught 
that indulgence in alcohol or tobacco, or other 
forms of dissipation, is fatal to his ambition to 
excel; self-control is thus impressed early upon 
the student, and his character is strengthened. 

College athletics are a safety valve; the ener- 
gies of the students are bound to find an outlet. 
By the strong exercises of the gymnasiums, and of 
the various games, these energies are naturally 
put forth ; so that the tendency to late hours and 
to dissipation is largely diminished. 

College athletics have generally, as is to be ex- 
pected, a far more gentlemanly and manly tone 
than those that may be called professional. Fur- 
thermore, they are less slangy and sporty than 
they were a few years ago ; the whole tendency is 
away from the rough and tough element, toward 
manliness and the development of manhood. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

At the university games now, an error of an 
opponent is no longer applauded or hissed; good 
plays are applauded. It used to be an object to 
rattle the opening teams by hooting. But that is 
now considered " muckerism." A general gentle- 
manly spirit prevails. 

There is less cause for anxiety in regard to the 
atmosphere in which college boys now live than 
there was a few years ago. The college tone is 
now by far manlier, cleaner, and more healthy. 
The hard drinkers and debauchees are no longer 
college heroes. 

Rough physical exercises are necessary to man- 
liness. It is becoming more and more evident that 
games and exercises that are rough, and that in- 
clude even an element of danger, are good for 
young men. 



[315] 



CHAPTER XXIV 

COLLEGE LIFE 

Education is the cheap defence of nations. — Ed- 
mund Burke. 

nn HE college world is a distinct world, with 
-*• some characteristics not to be found in the 
whole range of other life. It is unique, interest- 
ing, fascinating. There is a world of trade, of 
music, of art, of domesticity, of literature, of 
Bohemianism, of vice, the world of thugs and 
thieves, and the world of the slums. There are 
many little worlds in this big one, each with its 
characteristics, employments, joys, and sorrows. 
None is more distinct, and none more interesting 
than the college world. 

In this, is youth, with its freshness, strength, 
energy, hope, courage, illusions. The composi- 
tion of a college is to most people of extreme inter- 
est, since we instinctively love youth and are 
fascinated by its doings, its thoughts, its possi- 
bilities. Nothing else can rival, in capacity to 
touch the heart, a multitude of young people 

[316] 



Working One's Way Through College 

gathered in a college, to study, to play, to enjoy 
and hope and strive. 

College life is marked off from that of the com- 
mon world by the fact that the students are for 
the time out of the ordinary relations to the home. 
The home is the general order, but the colleges are 
made up of people away from home. They are a 
colony in a town or city of homes, but they are 
away from home. Parents and relatives have been 
left behind. They have temporarily severed the 
common relationships of life. They are a small 
army of invaders, come with all their freshness and 
strength into a strange community. They have 
that wonderful and beautiful thing, youth, and 
they have on them neither the scars of war nor of 
life. They are enjoying illusions; they do not 
know what they themselves are, nor what they may 
be. They have not measured their strength 
against the world; they have not fought with 
beasts ; and those to whom life is to be common- 
place have not yet discovered that fact. All are 
young Alexanders, and the world awaits their 
conquests. 

There are few places fuller of glorious dreams 
and vast hopes than the colleges. They are sur- 
rounded by boundless horizons, and the skies 
are roseate. They abound likewise with that 

[317] 



Working One's Way Through College 

overflow of energy that we call animal spirits. 
Where else can one hear such shoutings, see such 
robust playing, come across such abandon to the 
pleasure of the hour? 

This college life is full of enthusiasms and hero- 
isms. He is a traitor to his own institution who 
does not believe in the heroes who have gone forth 
from its walls, the judges and Congressmen, the 
Senators or perhaps President, the great writers, 
orators, who have been trained at that particular 
college. What do they care for the cold fact that 
other greater men have been graduated from other 
institutions, or have made their way to the front 
without any formal education? Their own men 
are their heroes, whose laurels in their eyes are 
greener, and whose genius is brighter than those 
of any other college in the land. If their particu- 
lar institution is not one of the greatest, if its en- 
dowment is not the largest, or its students the 
most numerous, what do these facts matter to 
undergraduates? They measure their college by 
the heroes it has sent out ; and they magnify and 
adore these loyally. They find in these great ones 
the prophecy of their own success ; or they see at 
least that they have the same opportunities. They 
walk on the same pavements ; they study within 
the same walls. Where Webster or Garfield 

[318] 



Working One's Way Through College 

or Harrison or Blaine, or dozens of other fa- 
mous or high-placed men have studied, the stu- 
dents take as much pride in the fact as if their 
college had millions of endowment. This is one 
thing that adds interest to college life — its hero- 
worship, its faith in the greatness of certain grad- 
uates, and so faith in the possible careers of the 
present students. This enthusiasm keeps the at- 
mosphere of the college warm, vital, and inspiring. 
Then, too, the college has its present-day heroes. 
Each one has its students esteemed great, whose 
memories are prodigious, whose genius is un- 
limited! Stories begin to be told of them by the 
men in the lower classes ; in the senior year they 
are already on a pinnacle ; and at graduation they 
vanish in a blaze of glory. Each college has its 
prodigious athletes, its men of muscle and skill. 
These, like the great students, walk the campus 
among crowds of worshippers. The great kickers 
and batters and pitchers all have loyal followings, 
and it is akin to treason not to praise them above 
all similar heroes in other colleges. Oh, fortunate 
college to have this Hercules on its roll! There 
is probably less of envy and more genuine enthu- 
siasm concerning the heroes of a college than con- 
cerning any other heroes. Shall we underrate our 
hero? Is he not ours? Are we not all sharers 

[319 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

in his glory? This is the feeling of most of the 
students. 

By the traditions of the institution, by the mem- 
ories of its great graduates, by the worship of 
the heroes actually present, the spirits of the 
students are stirred, and their ambitions aroused. 
Hopeful, brave, enthusiastic characters are the 
result of this kind of life. 

The college has a special fascination because it 
is a great training ground. What a gulf between 
the trained and the untrained ! The college brings 
hundreds of minds to bear consecutively, atten- 
tively, laboriously, persistently on great subjects. 
Mind is disciplined, character, will, and body are 
trained to act obediently. These youths are be- 
ing made ready to go forth into the world 
stronger, abler for tasks and endeavors of life. 
They are being made ready for work. They are 
learning to think. They immediately pass whole 
classes of men ; they enter the ranks of the intel- 
lectually strong. The raw boy becomes a man, a 
student, a thinker, a worker. Like an athlete he 
can throw himself upon a labor and go through 
with it, for he has been trained to do so. 

Intellectually, college life is of the greatest 
interest. Here are hundreds of minds temporarily 
abstracted from the ordinary and commonplace 

[ 320 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and brought into contact with the great principles 
of science, mathematics, language, and history. 
Their brains instead of being filled with the acci- 
dental impressions of the little world about them, 
or left to occurring thoughts, receive the mighty 
dreams of a buried world through the majestic 
languages of the Greeks and Romans. They listen 
to the strains of the greatest poets. They receive 
the chief facts of ancient life through the words 
of the greatest historians. They see looming up 
before them the great cities and nations of the 
past. They see pass in procession the heroes of 
the world. They learn what men have been and 
have done. They go down among the roots of 
language, and learn thus more of the tongue they 
themselves speak than they could otherwise do. 
They become familiar with the thoughts of the 
great and good of the past. They learn through 
science something of the constitution of the world 
and its laws. They learn how to learn. Even 
where little actual knowledge is retained, vistasj 
are at least opened up, and hardly any student 
goes away without having had some vision of the 
great past and the mighty present. They gain 
enlargement of mind. The world and the universe 
have grown before their intelligence. The vast- 
ness of things to be learned is perceived. 

[321 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The contact of the youth with many other 
youths has a great developing effect. The shy 
learn to be at ease in crowds. The spoiled and 
overbearing learn to moderate their self-assertion. 
The leaders develop their powers of leadership. 
In the rough-and-tumble of college life, its games 
and social contact, the rough diamonds are pol- 
ished. The weak gain strength, and the strong 
acquire consideration and courtesy. There are 
few if any better training-schools for character 
than the college. If there is anything in the 
youth, college will either bring it out or begin 
the process of such development. The raw, crude 
boy gets a thousand things besides knowledge. 
The youth who comes up awkward, ungainly, 
with no idea of manners or of dress or of address, 
imperceptibly, unconsciously, in the course of his 
terms absorbs from the more cultivated a good 
bearing, some knowledge of dress and manners. 
He must be very dull indeed and hopelessly in- 
curable, if at the end of his four years he is rec- 
ognizable as the same person in these respects. 
He learns also to talk ; he must be ready to answer 
the jibe and jest; he must defend himself. When 
he sits on the platform at graduation, he is a dif- 
ferent man. He is developed, polished, has left 
behind forever his former crudities. 

[322 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The vices of college life are commonly much 
exaggerated. The vicious among the youths are 
already vicious when they arrive, or are viciously 
disposed. They are the men who would be vicious 
under any circumstances. The majority of stu- 
dents are a fairly clean and sound set of young 
men. Some of them are conspicuously so. The 
temptations of college life are only the tempta- 
tions that are to be found anywhere, and the vici- 
ously disposed will find them anywhere. If there 
are temptations there are also strong restraining 
influences. There are the college laws, profes- 
sorial oversight, the church, the influence of the 
stronger and manlier students, the routine of 
work, healthful and exhilarating games, and social 
pleasures and influences of the community. 

The college towns ordinarily afford the stu- 
dents a good degree of social enjoyment among 
the people of the community. The students gen- 
erally have ready access to the homes of the peo- 
ple. The society of ladies becomes one of the 
important pleasures and refining influences of their 
career as students. The families of the profes- 
sors, with the characters and attainments of those 
savants, present a high local standard of culture, 
whose effect extends throughout the community. 
College towns, from the presence of the teachers 

[323 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

and their households and the considerable num- 
ber of persons usually found in such places who 
from force of neighborhood have taken part 
or all of the courses, commonly have a more intel- 
lectual tone than other communities. The stu- 
dents thus live in a place of more than ordinary 
culture.- The whole society is to some degree im- 
pregnated with this influence. The town may be 
a very small and imperfect Athens, but still it is 
an Athens compared with collegeless villages. 

College life affords these and many more ad- 
vantages and interests, opens to all new oppor- 
tunities and outlooks. Even to the most hard- 
working self-supporter it has many joys; and for 
him, as for all, it promises possibilities of in- 
creased power and usefulness. 



[ 324 ] 



CHAPTER XXV 

BUREAU FOR STUDENT AID, CARNEGIE 
TECHNICAL SCHOOLS 

Of the twenty-six men who have filled the office 
of President of the United States, seventeen received 
a college education. 

A REPORT from the Carnegie Technical 
Schools, where the needs by the self-support- 
ing student have been the particular concern of the 
authorities, describes conditions in the following 
account : 

" The problem of securing employment for students 
is a very real one, and one which is of increasing 
importance in most of the large colleges of the coun- 
try. In providing its faculty, the institution is car- 
ing for the instructional side only; but while this is 
its fundamental purpose, it has also to meet another 
vital problem — helping its students to support them- 
selves during their educational period. 

" Through a Bureau for Student Aid, organized 
and maintained by the officers of the schools, every 
effort is accordingly made to help the student of lim- 
ited means who enters the Carnegie Technical 
Schools. These schools were created primarily to 

[ 325 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

serve the masses — that large body of youth of the 
coming generation who have sufficient means to begin 
their education, but who have not the means of pur- 
suing their courses of study without some pecuniary 
assistance — whose main asset is their determination 
to become educated men. In thus assisting young 
men to maintain themselves, the institution assumes 
the rightful relation of Alma Mater. 

" Pittsburgh, world-famous as a centre of industrial 
activity, presents exceptional opportunities in the way 
of employment. This fact alone naturally attracts a 
great number of young men, and at the same time 
brings the necessity of some organization to place the 
opportunity for self-support before the students. 

" Some three years ago a Bureau for Student Aid 
was organized, and the service rendered has been con- 
spicuous from the first and increasingly effective from 
year to year. The issuing of application blanks solved 
the problem of supply in short order, but to create a 
demand for student help in the community was more 
difficult. By correspondence, by personal calls on 
employers of labor in this district, with some news- 
paper publicity, and with the aid of our school weekly 
publication, the existence of the Bureau gradually be- 
came known, and opportunities for work followed. 

" The function of such a Bureau as had been 
organized must be to secure suitable employment for 
the applicant — in other words, to fit the right man 
into the right place. This could be done only as the 
scope of the work at this institution became better 
known, and the courses the young men were taking 
better understood. The work once started, however, 

[ 326 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

gained momentum from year to year, and the prestige 
of the Bureau has been greatly strengthened by the 
high standard of scholarship which has been main- 
tained by the institution. 

" Fully half of the enrolment of the Carnegie 
Technical Schools is found in the night classes, where, 
speaking in very general terms, the students are able 
to come only on certain nights during the week. Thus 
the problem, though at once complicated, was at the 
same time made intensely interesting. 

" Opportunities for employment are not limitless 
even in a city like Pittsburgh; and for this reason 
prospective students are urged not to enter unless they 
have funds sufficient to carry them through the first 
half of the school year. By the end of that time they 
will have become more familiar with the employment 
opportunities which Pittsburgh affords, and will not 
be obliged to hamper their work at the start by having 
to face the problem of self-support. 

" Every effort is made by the Bureau to secure em- 
ployment on Saturdays, and after school hours for 
students in the day school. These deserving young 
men work as part-time assistants in chemical labora- 
tories, as helpers in machine shops and garages, as 
electrical testmen and part-time draughtsmen, as care- 
takers of lawns and gardens, as clerks and packers 
in the large department stores, as general helpers, 
messengers, ticket-takers, ushers — in fact, in any 
capacity in which they can earn money to pay their 
expenses. 

" Among the students in the night schools an in- 
creasingly large number come each year from out of 

[327] 



Working One's Way Through College 

town, hoping to find employment during the day in 
the business and manufacturing districts of the city. 
Many of these young men have already learned a 
trade, or have had several years' training in an office, 
or have gained mill or shop experience before coming 
to Pittsburgh. With such cases, except in very hard 
times, the Bureau has found comparatively little diffi- 
culty. Employers are always ready to take on a man 
who has had a year or two of practical work, and who 
is, moreover, ambitious to better himself by hard study 
at night. It is, moreover, often possible to secure 
permanent work for a young man who is without ex- 
perience of any sort, if he is ambitious and energetic. 
Indeed, upon the conscientious efforts of the students 
for whom it secures positions, upon their earnestness 
and close application to their duties, depends, in large 
measure, the success of the endeavors of those to 
whose charge this work has been intrusted. 

" The schools maintain a department of health, re- 
quiring a physical examination of every entering 
student, the results of which are represented in his 
regular course of study by credit marks, a certain 
number of which he must obtain to graduate. This 
work is a very effective means of correcting the 
abuse of allowing students to attempt too much outside 
work. 

" In applying for work the student is requested to 
give any practical experience he may have had or any 
employment for which he is especially fitted or may 
have a preference for. His teachers are then con- 
sulted as to his scholastic standing, his promptness, 
his accuracy, his energy, etc. He is also interviewed. 

[328 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

by the Bureau on his personality, his general bearing, 
his determination, adaptability, etc. 

" In order to make our report of the student to the 
employer complete, the latter receives not only a 
printed card of introduction, presented by the student, 
but also a confidential report from the Bureau, of the 
strong and weak points of the applicant. The greatest 
care is used in determining the student's qualifica- 
tions for a particular position; no student is recom- 
mended for any position unless he can demonstrate 
to our satisfaction his ability to fill the post. By this 
means the Bureau has been able to establish a reputa- 
tion for reliability in its recommendations, which is 
its strongest asset. This is especially true of posi- 
tions requiring considerable technical knowledge, 
whereas in minor posts, where the chief requirements 
are energy and reliability, students are sometimes 
recommended by us who are slightly below creditable 
standing, provided the cause of such deficiency is be- 
lieved to be only temporary. This is a departure from 
the practice at other institutions; but after studying 
carefully each individual case, we believe we are 
justified by the results. 

" In conclusion, the following brief statement of 
the work of the Bureau for the year 1910-11 may be 
of interest: 

Number of Applications Received . . . . 351 

Positions Offered and Solicited 325 

Students Placed in Positions 301 

Divided as follows: 

Full-time employment (night students) . . . 119 

[ 329 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Part-time employment (day students) . . . 159 
Graduate employment 23 

" The earning power of the students, estimated on 
the basis of time for which the student is engaged 
either in temporary work by the day or the week or 
in permanent work by the year, may be summarized 
as follows: 

Total wages secured for students in 

full-time positions $83,808.00 

Total wages secured for students for 

part-time work $ 13,648.50 

Total wages secured for graduates . 16,163.00 

Grand Total 113,619.50" 



[330] 



CHAPTER XXVI 

FREE EDUCATION IN THE NATIONAL 
ACADEMIES AT WEST POINT, ANNAPO- 
LIS, AND NEW LONDON 

The young people who work their way through 
college, thereby showing that they care enough for 
an education to labor hard to attain it, are the ones 
who usually value what costs them more than money. 

WHAT is said in this chapter does not, of 
course, have to do with self-support at col- 
lege, but it concerns a large number of boys and 
young men who are desirous of education but are 
without money to pay necessary expenses. The 
subject of these National, schools is treated here at 
length, for the reason that while it might be as- 
sumed that the terms and possibilities of education 
at the National academies might be familiar to 
American youths in general, such is not the fact. 
The average boy or young man actually knows 
little or nothing of these conditions. The extent 
of his information in general is that these acad- 
emies exist, that Congressmen and Senators have 

[331 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the power of appointments, and that the entrance 
examinations arc very difficult. 

To make clear to any who are interested in 
regard to Annapolis, West Point, or the Revenue- 
Cutter Service School at New London, we repro- 
duce a portion of the information provided by 
the Government concerning these schools: 

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ADMIS- 
SION OF CANDIDATES INTO THE NA- 
VAL ACADEMY AS MIDSHIPMEN 

GENERAL REMARKS 

1. There being no provision whatever for the pay- 
ment of the travelling expenses of rejected candidates 
for admission, no candidate should fail to provide him- 
self in advance with the means of returning home, in 
case of his rejection before either of the examining 
boards, as he may otherwise be put to considerable 
inconvenience. 

2. It is suggested to all candidates for admission to 
the Naval Academy that, before leaving their places 
of residence for Annapolis, they should cause them- 
selves to be thoroughly examined by a competent phy- 
sician, particularly regarding eyesight, hearing, and 
heart trouble; and by a teacher or instructor in good 
standing. A defect, such as varicocele, which is ordi- 
narily removable by operation, should be remedied 
prior to appearing at the Naval Academy for physical 
examination. By such an examination, any serious 

[ 332 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

physical disqualification, or deficiency in mental prep- 
aration, would be revealed, and the candidate probably 
spared the expense and trouble of a useless jour- 
ney, and the mortification of rejection. It should be 
understood that the informal examination herein rec- 
ommended is solely for the convenience and benefit 
of the candidate himself, and can in no manner affect 
the decision of the Examining Boards at Annapolis. 

3. A sound body and constitution, suitable prepara- 
tion, good natural capacity, an aptitude for study, in- 
dustrious habits, perseverance, an obedient and orderly 
disposition, and a correct moral deportment are such 
essential qualifications that candidates knowingly de- 
ficient in any of these respects should not, as many 
do, subject themselves and their friends to the chances 
of future mortification and disappointment by accept- 
ing appointments at the Naval Academy and enter- 
ing on a career which they can not successfully 
pursue. 

4. The selection of candidates, by competitive ex- 
amination or otherwise, for nomination from any con- 
gressional district, is entirely in the hands of the 
Member of Congress entitled to the appointment, and 
all applications for appointment or inquiries relative 
to competitive examinations should be addressed to 
the Congressman representing the congressional dis- 
trict in which the vacancy exists. 

'NOMINATION 

6. The students of the Naval Academy are styled 
midshipmen. 

[333 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

7. Two midshipmen are allowed for each Senator, 
Representative, and Delegate in Congress, two for 
the District of Columbia, and five each year from the 
United States at large. The appointments from the 
District of Columbia and five each year at large are 
made by the President. 

8. One midshipman is allowed from Porto Rico, 
who must be a native of that island. The appoint- 
ment is made by the President, on the recommenda- 
tion of the Governor of Porto Rico. 

9. After June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and thir- 
teen, each Senator, Representative, and Delegate in 
Congress will be allowed to appoint but one midship- 
man instead of two. 

10. The course for midshipmen is six years — four 
years at the Academy, when the succeeding appoint- 
ment is made, and two years at sea, at the expiration 
of which time the examination for final graduation 
takes place. 

11. Midshipmen who pass the examination for final 
graduation are appointed to fill vacancies in the lower 
grade of the Line of the Navy; and occasionally to 
fill vacancies in the Marine Corps and in certain of 
the staff corps of the Navy. 

12. " Hereafter the Secretary of the Navy shall, 
as soon as possible after the first day of June of each 
year preceding the graduation of midshipmen in the 
succeeding year, notify in writing each Senator, 
Representative, and Delegate in Congress of any 
vacancy that will exist at the Naval Academy because 
of such graduation, or that may occur for other 
reasons, and which he shall be entitled to fill by 

[334 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

nomination of a candidate and one or more alternates 
therefor. The nomination of a candidate and alter- 
nate or alternates to fill said vacancy shall be made 
upon the recommendation of the Senator, Represen- 
tative, or Delegate, if said recommendation is made by 
the fourth day of March of the year following that in 
which said notice in writing is given; but if it is not 
made by that time the Secretary of the Navy shall fill 
the vacancy by appointment of an actual resident of 
the State, congressional district, or Territory, as the 
case may be, in which the vacancy will exist, who shall 
have been for at least two years immediately preced- 
ing the date of his appointment an actual and bona 
fide resident of the State, congressional district, or 
Territory in which the vacancy will exist and of the 
legal qualification under the law as now provided. 
In cases where by reason of a vacancy in the member- 
ship of the Senate or House of Representatives, or 
by the death or declination of a candidate for admis- 
sion to the Academy, there occurs or is about to occur 
at the Academy a vacancy for any State, district, or 
Territory that can not be filled by nomination as 
herein provided, the same may be filled as soon there- 
after and before the final entrance examination for 
the year as the Secretary of the Navy may deter- 
mine." — (Act approved June 29, 1906.) 

13. Candidates allowed for congressional districts, 
for Territories, and for the District of Columbia must 
be actual residents of the districts or Territories, re- 
spectively, from which they are nominated. 

14. All candidates must, at the time of their ex- 
amination for admission, be between the ages of 

[335] 



Working One's Way Through College 

sixteen and twenty years. A candidate is eligible for 
appointment on the day he becomes sixteen and is 
ineligible on the day he becomes twenty years of age. 

EXAMINATION 

15. "All candidates for admission into the Acad- 
emy shall be examined according to such regulations 
and at such stated times as the Secretary of the Navy 
may prescribe. Candidates rejected at such examina- 
tion shall not have the privilege of another examination 
for admission to the same class unless recommended 
by the Board of Examiners." — {Rev. Stat., § 1515.) 

16. When any candidate who has been nominated 
upon the recommendation of a Senator, Member, or 
Delegate of the House of Representatives is found, 
upon examination, to be physically or mentally dis- 
qualified for admission, the Senator, Member, or 
Delegate shall be notified to recommend another candi- 
date, who shall be examined according to the provi- 
sions of the preceding section. 

17. Beginning with the year nineteen hundred and 
four, but two examinations for admission of midship- 
men to the Academy will be held each year, as fol- 
lows: (a) The first examination to be held on the 
third Tuesday in April, under the supervision of 
the Civil Service Commission, at points named in the 
accompanying list. All those qualifying mentally who 
are entitled to appointment in order of nomination 
will be notified by the superintendent of the Naval 
Academy when to report at the Academy for physical 
examination, and if physically qualified will be 
appointed. 

[ 836] 



Working One's Way Through College 



Alabama — 

Birmingham. 

Mobile, c. h. 

Montgomery. 
Arizona — 

Douglas, c. h. 

Phoenix. 

Prescott. 

Tucson. 
Arkansas — 

Fayetteville. 

Fort Smith. 

Helena. 

Jonesboro. 

Little Rock. 

Texarkana. 
California — 

Eureka. 

Fresno. 

Los Angeles. 

Marysville. 

Red Bluff. 

Sacramento. 

San Bernardino. 

San Diego. 

San Jose. 

San Francisco. 

San Luis Obispo. 
Colorado — 

Denver. 

Durango. 

Fort Collins. 



Grand Junction. 

Leadville. 

Montrose. 

Pueblo. 

Trinidad. 
Connecticut — 

Hartford, c. H. 

Middletown. 

New Haven. 
Delaware — 

Wilmington. 
District of Columbia- 

Washington. 
Florida — 

Gainesville. 

Jacksonville. 

Key West. 

Miami. 

Pensacola. 

Tampa. 
Georgia — 

Athens. 

Atlanta. 

Augusta. 

Macon. 

Savannah. 

Thomasville. 
Hawaii — 

Honolulu, c. H. 
Idaho — 

Boise. 

Moscow. 
[ 337 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 



Idaho, cont'd 

Pocatello. 
Illinois — 

Cairo. 

Champaign. 

Chicago. 

East St. Louis. 

Freeport. 

Peoria. 

Quincy. 

Springfield. 
Indiana — 

Bloomington. 

Elkhart. 

Evansville. 

Fort Wayne. 

Indianapolis. 

Lafayette. 

New Albany. 

Richmond. 

Terre Haute. 

Valparaiso. 
Iowa — 

Ames. 

Burlington. 

Council Bluffs. 

Davenport. 

Des Moines. 

Dubuque. 

Fort Dodge. 

Iowa City. 

Mason City. 



Sioux City. 

Waterloo. 
Kansas — 

Concordia. 

Emporia. 

Fort Scott. 

Kansas City. 

Lawrence. 

Manhattan. 

Salina. 

Topeka. 

Wichita. 
Kentucky — 

Ashland. 

Bowling Green. 

Covington. 

Lexington. 

Louisville. 

Owensboro. 

Paducah. 
Louisiana — 

Alexandria. 

Baton Rouge. 

Lake Charles. 

Monroe. 

New Orleans, c. H, 

Shreveport. 
Maine — 

Bangor. 

Bath. 

Calais, c. H. 

Houlton. 
[ 338 ] 



Working One y s Way Through College 



Maine, cont'd 

Lewiston. 

Portland. 
Maryland — 

Baltimore. 

Cumberland. 

Salisbury. 
Massachusetts — 

Boston. 

Fall River. 

Fitchburg. 

Lawrence. 

Lowell. 

Pittsfield. 

Springfield. 

Worcester. 
Michigan — 

Ann Arbor. 

Detroit. 

Grand Rapids. 

Manistee. 

Marquette. 

Saginaw. 

Sault Ste. Marie, c. h. 

Traverse City. 
Minnesota — 

Crookston. 

Duluth. 

Fergus Falls. 

Mankato. 

St. Paul. 



Mississippi — 

Greenville. 

Meridian. 

Vicksburg. 
Missouri — 

Columbia. 

Jefferson City. 

Kansas City. 

Kirksville. 

Poplar Bluff. 

Springfield. 

St. Joseph. 

St. Louis. Old c. h« 
Montana — 

Billings. 

Bozeman. 

Butte. 

Great Falls. 

Helena. 

Kalispell. 

Miles City. 

Missoula. 
Nebraska — 

Grand Island. 

Lincoln. 

Norfolk. 

North Platte. 

Omaha. 
Nevada — 

Carson City. 

Reno. 



[ 339 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 



New Hampshire — 

Concord. 

Hanover. 

Keene. 

Manchester. 

Portsmouth. 
New Jersey — 

Newark. 

Trenton. 
New Mexico — 

Albuquerque. 

Las Vegas. 

Roswell. 

Santa Fe. 
New York — 

Binghamton. 

Buffalo. 

Elmira. 

Ithaca. 

Jamestown. 

New York. c. h. 

Ogdensburg. c. h. 

Plattsburg. c. H. 

Poughkeepsie. 

Rochester. 

Syracuse. 

Troy. 

Utica. 
North Carolina — 

Asheville. 

Charlotte. 

Durham. 



Goldsboro. 

Greensboro. 

Raleigh. 

Wilmington. 
North Dakota — 

Bismarck. 

Fargo. 

Grand Forks. 

Minot. 

Pembina, c. h. 
Ohio — 

Canton. 

Chillicothe. 

Cincinnati. 

Cleveland, c. H. 

Columbus. 

Dayton. 

Ironton. 

Lima. 

Mansfield. 

Marietta. 

Steubenville. 

Toledo. 

Youngstown. 

Zanesville. 
Oklahoma — 

Ardmore. 

Enid. 

Guthrie. 

McAlester. 

Muskogee. 

Oklahoma. 
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Oregon — 

Astoria, c. h. 

Baker City. 

Eugene. 

Grants Pass. 

Pendleton. 

Portland. 
Pennsylvania — 

Altoona. 

Harrisburg. 

Philadelphia. 

Pittsburgh. 

South Bethlehem. 

Warren. 

Wilkes-Barre. 

Williamsport. 
Porto Rico — 

San Juan. 
Rhode Island — 

Providence. 
South Carolina — 

Charleston. 

Columbia. 

Greenville. 
South Dakota — 

Aberdeen. 

Deadwood. 

Pierre. 

Sioux Falls. 

Watertown. 
Tennessee — 

Bristol. 



Chattanooga. 

Knoxville. 

Memphis. 

Nashville. 
Texas — 

Amarillo. 

Austin. 

Brownsville, c. H. 

Dallas. 

El Paso. c. h. 

Houston. 

San Antonio. 

Waco. 
Utah — 

Logan. 

Provo. 

Salt Lake City. 
Vermont — 

Burlington, c. h. 

Montpelier. 

Rutland. 

St. Johnsbury. 
Virginia — 

Alexandria. 

Charlottesville. 

Lynchburg. 

Norfolk. 

Richmond. 

Roanoke. 

Staunton. 
Washington — 

Bellingham. 
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Working One's Way Through College 



Washington, cont'd 

North Yakima. 

Pofct Townsend 

Pullman. 

Seattle. 

Spokane. 

Tacoma. 

Vancouver. 

Walla Walla. 
West Virginia — 

Charleston. 

Fairmont. 

Huntington. 

Martinsburg. 

Parkersburg. 

Wheeling. 



Wisconsin — 
Appleton. 
c. h. Ashland. 

Chippewa Falls. 
La Crosse. 
Madison. 
Marinette. 
Milwaukee. 
Wausau. 
Wyoming — 
Cheyenne. 
Laramie. 
Rock Springs. 
Sheridan. 



Candidates nominated for the April examination 
may be examined at Washington, D. C, if so desired, 
or at any of the places in any State named in the 
accompanying list. 

Senators and Representatives are requested, when 
designating their nominees, to give the place at which 
it is desired they should be examined if nominated 
for the April examination. 

(6) The second and last examination will be held 
at Annapolis, Md., only, on the third Tuesday in 
June, under the supervision of the Superintendent of 
the Naval Academy. Candidates are examined men- 
tally at this examination, and all those entitled to 
appointment, in order of nomination, will be directed 

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by the Superintendent to report for physical exam- 
ination,, as soon thereafter as practicable, at the Naval 
Academy. 1 

18. Alternates are given the privilege of reporting 
for mental examination at the same time with the 
principal. 

19. No examination will be held later than the 
third Tuesday in June. The large number of mid- 
shipmen to be instructed and drilled makes this rule 
necessary, and it is to the great advantage of the 
new midshipmen themselves. The summer months 
are utilized in preliminary instruction in professional 
branches and drills, such as handling boats under oars 
and sails, and in seamanship, gunnery, and infantry 
drills. These practical exercises form most excellent 
groundwork as a preparation for the academic course. 

20. The examination papers used in all examina- 
tions are prepared at the Naval Academy and the 
examinations of candidates are finally passed upon 
by the Academic Board. No candidate shall be ad- 
mitted unless, in the opinion of the Academic Board, 
he shows the requisite mental qualifications. 

21. Under the law, candidates failing to pass the 
entrance examinations can not be allowed another ex- 
amination for admission to the same class unless rec- 
ommended for reexamination by the Board of 
Examiners (*. e., Academic Board). 

22. Candidates who have successfully passed the 
entrance examination in a previous year shall not be 

i After the June examination, 1911, both the April and 
June mental examinations will be conducted under the super- 
vision of the Civil Service Commission. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

required to take another mental examination for ad- 
mission, in the event of reappointment. 

23. The Civil Service Commission merely conducts 
the examination of candidates whose names have been 
furnished by the Navy Department. All correspond- 
ence relative to the nomination and examination of 
candidates should be addressed to the Bureau of Nav- 
igation, Navy Department, Washington, D. C. 

24. Candidates will be required to enter the Acad- 
emy immediately after passing the prescribed mental 
and physical examinations. 

25. No leave of absence will be granted to midship- 
men of the fourth class. 

26. Candidates will be examined physically at the 
Naval Academy by a board composed of three medical 
officers of the Navy, whose decision will be final. 

27. Physical examinations shall habitually be held 
at the following times: 

(a) For candidates mentally examined in April 
or in a previous year, beginning at the latest prac- 
ticable date to insure completion by the third Tues- 
day in June. 

(b) For candidates mentally examined in June, as 
soon as practicable after the completion of the men- 
tal examination. 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

28. Candidates are required to be of good moral 
character, physically sound, well formed, and of ro- 
bust constitution. 

29. Any one of the following conditions will be 
sufficient to cause the rejection of a candidate, viz.: 

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Working One's Way Through College 

(a) Feeble constitution, inherited or acquired. 
(6) Retarded development. 

(c) Impaired general health. 

(d) Decided cachexia, diathesis, or predisposition. 

(e) Any disease, deformity, or result of injury that 
would impair efficiency ; such as — 

(e«) Weak or disordered intellect. 

(e&) Cutaneous or communicable disease. 

(ec) Unnatural curvature of the spine, torticollis, 
or other deformity. 

(ec?) Inefficiency of either of the extremities or 
large articulations from any cause. 

(e/) Epilepsy or other convulsions within five 
years. 

(/) Impaired vision, disease of the organs of vi- 
sion, imperfect color sense; visual acuteness must be 
normal, i, e., 20/20 for each eye without the aid of 
glasses. 

(g) Impaired hearing or disease of either ear. 
The organs of hearing, both the conductive apparatus 
(outer and middle ear) and the percipient apparatus 
(internal ear), must be free from disease. In test- 
ing the hearing of the candidate, the voice, the tick- 
ing of a watch, and, if practicable, Politzer's 
acoumeter shall be employed. 

The voice is a more reliable method of determining 
the acuteness of hearing than the ticking of an ordi- 
nary watch, as it allows for variations in hearing, 
with the modifications produced by changes in pitch 
and tone. Hearing in each ear must be normally 
acute to the spoken and whispered voice. In examin- 
ing the acuteness of the hearing with the voice, one 

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Working One's Way Through College 

ear of the candidate should be closed while the other 
ear is being examined, and his eyes should be covered 
to prevent lip reading. The ticking of an ordinary 
watch should be heard a distance of 40 inches. 

(h) Chronic nasal catarrh, ozaena, polypi, or great 
enlargement of the tonsils. 

(i) Impediment of speech to such an extent as to 
impair efficiency in the performance of duty. 

(A;) Disease of heart or lungs or decided indica- 
tions of liability to cardiac or pulmonary affections. 

(I) Hernia, complete or incomplete, and unde- 
scended testis. 

(m) Varicocele, sarcocele, hydrocele, stricture, 
fistula, hemorrhoids, or varicose veins of lower limbs. 

(ft) Disease of the genito-urinary organs. 

(o) Chronic ulcers, ingrowing nails, large bun- 
ions, cross or hammer toes, or other deformity of 
the feet. 

(p) Loss of many teeth, or teeth generally un- 
sound. There shall be at least eight opposing molars, 
two on each side in each jaw. 

30. Attention will also be paid to the stature of 
the candidate, and no one manifestly under size for 
his age will be received at the Academy. The height 
of candidates for admission shall not be less than 
5 feet 2 inches between the ages of 16 and 18 years, 
and not less than 5 feet 4 inches between the ages of 
18 and 20 years; and the minimum weight at 16 
years of age shall be 105 pounds, with an increase 
of not less than 5 pounds for each additional year, 
or fraction of a year over one-half. Any marked 
deviation in the height and weight relative to the 

\ 346 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

age of a candidate will add materially to the consid- 
eration for rejection. 

31. Candidates must be unmarried, and any mid- 
shipman who shall marry, or who shall be found to 
be married, before his final graduation, shall be dis- 
missed the service. 

MENTAL REQUIREMENTS 

32. Candidates will be examined mentally in punc- 
tuation, spelling, arithmetic, geography, English 
grammar, United States history, world's history, al- 
gebra through quadratic equations, and plane geom- 
etry (five books of Chauvenet's Geometry, or an 
equivalent). Deficiency in any one of these subjects 
may be sufficient to insure the rejection of the candi- 
date. 

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE MENTAL EXAMINATION 

33. Reading and Writing. — Candidates must be 
able to read understandingly, and with proper accent 
and emphasis, and to write legibly, neatly, and rap- 
idly. 

34. Spelling. — They must be able to write, from 
dictation, a list of not more than one hundred selected 
words, or paragraphs from standard pieces of English 
literature, both prose and poetr}^ sufficient in number 
to test fully their qualifications in this branch. The 
spelling throughout the examination will be consid- 
ered in marking the papers. The Academic Board 
are instructed not to reject a candidate whose only 
deficiency is in spelling when the mark therefor is 

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Working Ones Way Through College 

above a certain figure, to be fixed by the board, sub- 
ject to the revision of the Department. 

35. Punctuation and Capitals. — They must be 
familiar with the rules for punctuation and for the 
use of capitals. In order to test their knowledge, 
sentences may be given for correction. Punctuation 
and the use of capitals throughout the examination 
will be considered in marking paper. 

36. Grammar. — Candidates must exhibit thorough 
familiarity with English grammar; they must be able 
to analyze and parse any sentence given, showing 
clearly the relations between the different parts of 
speech, and giving the rules governing those rela- 
tions. The subject and predicate in the sentence 
must be given, with modifiers (if any), and also the 
part of speech, and kind, case, voice, mood, tense, 
number, person, degree of comparison, etc., as the 
case may be, of each word, and its relation to other 
words in the sentence. 

They must be able to define the terms used in gram- 
mar, a number of which may be given as a test of 
their knowledge. 

Sentences containing grammatical mistakes may be 
given for correction. 

A composition on one of three subjects will be re- 
quired. 

Since the school grammars used in different parts of 
the country vary among themselves in their treatment 
of certain words, an answer approved by any gram- 
mar of good repute will be accepted. 

37. Geography. — Candidates will be required to pass 
a satisfactory examination in descriptive geography, 

[34,8] 



Working One's Way Through College. 

particularly of our own country. Questions will 
be given under the following heads: The defini- 
tions of latitude and longitude (including problems 
with regard to differences of time between places) ; 
the zones ; the grand divisions of land and water ; the 
character of coast lines ; the climate of different parts 
of the United States; trade winds; the direction and 
position of important mountain chains and the locality 
of the higher peaks; the position and course of the 
principal rivers, their tributaries, and the bodies of 
water into which they flow; the position of important 
seas, bays, gulfs, and arms of the sea; the position 
of independent States, their boundaries and capital 
cities; the position and direction of great peninsulas 
and the situation of important and prominent capes, 
straits, sounds, channels, and the most important 
canals; great lakes and inland seas; position and 
political connection of important islands and colonial 
possessions; location of cities of historical, political, 
or commercial importance, attention being especially 
called to the rivers and bodies of water on which 
cities are situated; the course of a vessel in making 
a voyage between well-known ports. 

The candidate's knowledge of the geography of the 
United States can not be too full or specific on all the 
points referred to above. Accurate knowledge will 
also be required of the position of the country with 
reference to other States, and with reference to lati- 
tude and longitude, of the boundaries and relative 
position of the States and Territories, of the name and 
position of their capitals, and of other important 
cities and towns. 

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Working Ones Way Through College 

38. United States History. — The examination in 
this branch will include questions concerning the 
early settlements in this country; the forms of gov- 
ernment in the colonies; the causes, leading events, 
and results of wars ; and prominent events in the his- 
tory of our Government since its foundation. 

39. World's History. — Candidates must be famil- 
iar with the general history of the world, including 
the rise and the fall of empires and of dynasties ; 
changes in territory as the result of wars or from 
other causes ; the most important treaties of peace ; 
the relations between church and state in different 
countries; in brief, such information as may be found 
in the ordinary general histories. 

40. Arithmetic. — The candidate will be re- 
quired — 

To express in figures any whole, decimal, or mixed 
number ; to write in words any given number ; to per- 
form with facility and accuracy the various operations 
of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division 
of whole numbers, whether abstract or compound, and 
to use with facility the tables of money, weights, and 
measures in common use, including English money. 

To reduce compound numbers from one denomina- 
tion to another, and to express them as decimals or 
fractions of a higher or lower denomination; to state 
the number of cubic inches in a gallon and the rela- 
tion between the troy and avoirdupois pounds, and 
to reduce differences of time to differences of longi- 
tude and vice versa. 

To define prime and composite numbers; to give 
the tests of divisibility by 3, 5, 9, 11, 25, and 125; 

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Working One's Way Through College 

to resolve numbers into their prime factors, and to 
find the least common multiple and the greatest com- 
mon divisor of large as well as of small numbers. 

To be familiar with all the processes of common 
and decimal fractions; to give clearly the reasons for 
such processes, and to be able to use the contracted 
methods of multiplication and division given in the 
ordinary text-books on arithmetic. 

To define ratio and proportion, and to solve prob- 
lems in simple and compound proportion. 

To solve problems involving the measurement of 
rectangular surfaces and of solids; to find the square 
roots and the cube roots of numbers, and to solve 
simple problems under percentage, interest, and dis- 
count. 

The candidates are required to possess such a thor- 
ough understanding of all the fundamental operations 
of arithmetic as will enable them to apply the various 
principles to the solution of any complex problem that 
can be solved by the methods of arithmetic; in other 
words, they must possess such a complete knowledge 
of arithmetic as will enable them to proceed at once 
to the higher branches of mathematics without further 
study of arithmetic. 

41. Algebra. — The examination in algebra will in- 
clude questions and problems upon the fundamental 
rules, factoring, greatest common divisor, least com- 
mon multiple, algebraic fractions, equations of the 
first degree with one or more unknown quantities, 
simplification of expressions involving surds, and the 
solution and theory of quadratic equations. 

42. Geometry. — In geometry candidates will be 

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Working One's Way Through College 

required to give accurate definitions of terms used in 
plane geometry, to demonstrate any proposition of 
plane geometry as given in the ordinary text-books, 
and to solve simple geometrical problems, either by a 
construction or by an application of algebra. 

43. The entrance examination used in June, 1908, 
for the purpose of determining the mental qualifica- 
tions of candidates for admission is quoted below in 
full. 

SAMPLE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION 

(June, 1908.) 

DICTATION EXERCISE IN SPELLING. 

The examiner will pronounce distinctly each word, 
repeating the word if necessary. 

Fifteen minutes are allowed for this subject. 

1. president. 16. recover. 

2. respectfully. 17. investigate. 

3. literature. 18. medical. 

4. submitted. 19. operation. 

5. forty. 20. severely. 

6. leave. 21. athletics. 

7. absence. 22. mathematics 

8. collision. 23. navigation. 

9. accident. 24. physics. 

10. occurred. 25. chemistry. 

11. campaign. 26. commandant. 

12. assemble. 27. necessity. 

13. delayed. 28. financial. 

14. injuries. 29. government. 

15. hospital. 30. occasion. 

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Working One's Way Through College 



31. concerned. 

32. carrying. 

33. cruise. 

34. target. 

35. firing. 

36. trophy. 

37. quarantine. 

38. protection. 

39. expansion 

40. cotton. 

41. numerous. 

42. engines. 

43. prejudice. 

44. stratagem. 

45. spherical. 

46. inevitable. 

47. normal. 

48. proceed. 

49. immediately. 

50. arrival. 

51. conceal. 

52. boundary. 

53. military. 

54. college. 

55. acknowledge. 

56. receipt. 

57. communication. 

58. channel. 

59. legitimate. 

60. transaction. 

61. practically. 

62. redeemed. 



63. acceptable. 

64. scheme. 

65. disaster. 

66. temporary. 

67. remedies. 

68. intelligent. 

69. welcome. 

70. undesirable. 

71. permanent. 

72. peril. 

73. furnace. 

74. revision. 

75. written. 

76. mental. 

77. senior. 

78. lieutenant. 

79. ensign. 

80. foreign. 

81. scientific. 

82. simplicity. 

83. library. 

84. equally. 

85. helpful. 

86. purchase. 

87. antagonist, 

88. disease. 

89. appear. 

90. position. 

91. vacancy. 

92. eligible. 

93. fraternal. 

94. relations. 



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95. impartial. 98. battle. 

96. agreement. 99. discipline. 

97. squadron. 100. skirmish. 

GRAMMAR 

(Time allowed: 1 hour, 45 minutes) 
I, 
Correct, if necessary, in whatever way seems de- 
sirable, the following sentences: 

1. Whom none but Heaven and you and I shall 
hear. 

2. Sense, and not riches, win esteem. 

3. Praise from a friend or censure from a foe 
Are lost on hearers that our merits know. 

4. Let me awake the king — he who lies there 
drenched with sleep. 

5. He comes, nor want nor cold his course delay. 

6. Where nothing save the waves and I 
Shall hear our mutual murmurs creep. 

7. My robe and mine integrity to heaven 
Is all I dare now call my own. 

8. The doctor, in his lecture, said that fever always 
produced thirst. 

ii 

1. Sailing up the river, the whole town may be 
seen. 

2. Verse and prose run into one another like light 
and shade. 

3. We sorrow not as them that have no hope. 

4. Now therefore come thou, let us make a cove- 
nant, I and thou. 

5. He is not only accused of theft but of murder. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

6. This man with his twelve children were notori- 
ous robbers. 

7. Nothing but grave and serious studies delight 
him. 

8. I am a plain blunt man that love my friend. 

HI 

In the following sentences point out the subject, 
the predicate, and their modifiers, and parse the 
italicized words : 

1. What art thou, speak, that on designs unknown, 
While others sleep, thus range the camp alone? 

2. Motionless as a cloud the old man stood, 
That moveth altogether, if it move at all. 

IV 

Which of the bracketed words is right? 

1. It can not be [me] [I] you mean. 

2. [Who] [whom] do you think will be elected? 

3. [Who] [whom] should I meet but my old 
friend ? 

4. The man [who] [whom] you thought was a 
guide turns out to be a scoundrel. 

5. Velvet feels [smooth] [smoothly]. 

6. She looked [sweet] [sweetly] in a white gown. 

7. The man feels [warm] [warmly]. 

8. Larks sing [sweet] [sweetly]. 

9. He is a man [who] [whom] I know is honest. 
10. [Who] [whom] am I supposed to be? 

v 
Give the principal parts of the following verbs: 
1. Bid (to order). 2. Bid (at auction). 3. Flee. 
4. Fly. 5. Burst. 6. Plead. 7. Rise (intransitive). 
8. Raise (transitive). 9. Sit. 10. Slay. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

GEOGRAPHY 

(Time allowed, 1 hour) 

i 

(a) Name and fix the position of seven large cities, 
three important rivers, and the largest State, of 
South America. 

(b) Name and fix the position of seven large cities, 
three important rivers, and the largest State, of 
Europe. 

(c) Name two countries lately admitted into the 
family of nations as sovereign States. 

(d) 1. What States are separated by the Missis- 
sippi River? 2. In what does South America excel 
all other countries? 

ii 

(a) 1. Name the largest three cities of Canada. 
2. What is the largest body of fresh water in the 
world? 3. Name and fix the positions of the largest 
five islands. 4. What is the most important engi- 
neering work now in progress? 

(b) Name the islands of the West Indies and their 
capitals. To what countries do they belong? 

(c) Tell about the Gulf Stream. 

(d) What are the tides? By what produced? Why 
are they not always of the same height? 

in 
(a) State some of the uses of mountains. 
(6) On what water is each of the following: 1. 
Duluth. 2. Gibraltar. 3. Glasgow. 4. Montevideo. 
5. Rome. 6. Callao. 7. Albany. 8. Havana. 

(c) What separates Mexico from the United States? 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Spain from France? New Hampshire from Ver- 
mont? Arizona from California? 

(d) Bound (1) Colorado, (2) Ecuador. Give the 
capital of each. 

IV 

(a) What countries border on the Adriatic? The 
Baltic? 

(6) Fix the position of the following: 1. Gram- 
pian Hills. 2. Pyrenees Mountains. 3. Green Moun- 
tains. 4. Tagus River. 

(c) Fix the position of the following and tell to 
what countries they belong: 1. Balearic Islands. 2. 
Sardinia. 3. Isle of Man. 4. Society Islands. 

(d) Where is marble obtained? What strait con- 
nects the Arctic and Pacific oceans? 

UNITED STATES HISTORY 

(Time allowed, 1 hour) 

i 

(a) Name the first ten Presidents of the United 
States. 

(6) Give the approximate dates of the founding 
and fix the positions of — 1. Harvard. 2. William 
and Mary. 3. Yale. 4. West Point. 5. United 
States Naval Academy. 

(c) Give the date of La Fayette's return visit to 
America, and an account of the honors and rewards 
given him. 

(d) Give the dates of the following: 1. Landing 
of the Pilgrims. 2. Founding of the first newspaper 
in America. 3. Battle of Bunker Hill. 4. Death of 

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Working One's Way Through College 

Washington. 5. Burning of the Capitol at Wash- 
ington. 

ii 

(a) Outline briefly the condition of the colonies in 
1763 in regard to population, nationality, and form of 
government. How was the right to vote gov- 
erned ? 

(b) Tell about the Alabama claims. 

(c) Give briefly the causes of the American Revolu- 
tion, period of time covered, and terms of treaty that 
ended the war. 

(d) When and where was: 1. The first permanent 
settlement made by the English in America? 2. The 
first representative assembly ever convened in 
America ? 

hi 
(a) Write briefly about: 1. Washington Irving. 2. 
S. F. B. Morse. 3. George Bancroft. 4. Decatur. 
(6) Tell about Lewis and Clark's Expedition. 

(c) What is the present status of Cuba? Porto 
Rico? 

(d) Tell about the first transcontinental railroad. 

IV 

(a) Give the date and place of the battles between 
the Monitor and the Merrimac. 

(b) Give a brief account of the Trent affair. 

(c) Who were: 1. Fenimore Cooper. 2. Israel 
Putnam. 3. Henry Clay. 4. Ericsson. 

(d) Give the number (approximate) of Represen- 
tatives in Congress; number of Senators. W 7 hat is 
the present ratio (approximate) of representa- 
tion? 

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Working One's Way Through College 

WORLD *S HISTORY 

(Time allowed, 2 hours) 

i 

(o) What were the date, causes, and results of the 
Crimean War? Countries engaged? 

(6) Give the date and the provisions of the Treaty 
of Westphalia. 

(c) Discuss the importance of the date 1066. 

ii 

(a) What period of time was covered by the reign 
of the Ptolemies? Where? Who was the last? Tell 
about the Battle of Arbela. Why was it one of the 
decisive battles of history? 

(6) 1. What was the fundamental difference be- 
tween the Greek colonization and the Roman? 2. 
Who were the first people to practise worship and 
belief in but one God? 

(c) Explain briefly the following references: 1. 
Home Rule. 2. The Hegira. 3. The Inquisition. 4. 
The Reign of Terror. 

hi 

(a) Name and write briefly about one American 
author of note ; one English ; one French ; one Italian. 
Give the period in which each lived, and mention at 
least one characteristic work. 

(6) Write briefly about: 1. The Huguenots. 2. The 
Sepoy Mutiny. 

(c) Tell about the voyage of Magellan. 

IV 

(a) 1. Give approximately the period of time cov- 
ered by "The Dark Ages." Why was this period so 

[359] 



Working One's Way Through College 

called ? 2. In what countries did the following-named 
royal houses reign: (a) Plantagenet; (6) Valois; (c) 
Hapsburg; (d) Stuart? 

(6) What influence did the Greek games exert on 
the social, religious, and literary life? 

(c) Tell about the voyage of Henry Hudson. 

v 

Tell when and where each of the following-named 
persons lived, and what he is famous for: 1. Leonidas. 
2. Xerxes. 3. Thackeray. 4. Bismarck. 5. Euclid. 
6. Saladin. 7. Richelieu. 8. Byron. 9. Poe. 10. 
Newton. 

ARITHMETIC 

(Time allowed, 3 hours) 
i 
(a) Divide 4.3046721 by .0729, and multiply 
1.29608 by 3.125. 

(6) Reduce ffff to a decimal, and .390625 to a 
proper fraction in its lowest terms. 

O) Add 43-fffl- to 19^^, after reducing each to 
decimal form. 

n 
(«) Simplify Ji±gi±gi x 0i+10JH-ll^ 

(6 ) Divide 3 rV-4A+2A b l+f- A 
3 T V-2 T V SA ' 

hi 

(a) Find the value of ^~ to six decimal places. 

4+\6 
(o) Find, to three decimal places, the dimensions 
of a cube which will hold a gallon of 231 cu. in. 

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Working One's Way Through College 

IV 

(a) If 576 cu. in. of gold weigh 405 lb. (Troy), 
and one grain can be beaten into a sheet of 56 sq. in., 
what will be the thickness of a book of 2,268 such 
sheets ? 

(6) A sells an article to B at 25% profit; B sells 
to C at 20% profit; and C to D at 28% profit, and 
receives $48. What was the original cost? 

v 

(a) A sum of money at simple interest amounted 
to $2,172.80 in 2 yr. 7 mo. 18 days, and to $2,303.20 
in 3 yr. 11 mo. 27 days. Find principal loaned and 
rate of interest. 

(6) With discharge pipe stopped, a bath tub can 
be filled by one faucet in 11^ min. or by the other 
faucet in 9 min. With discharge pipe open, both 
faucets run for 5 min.; then the discharge pipe is 
closed, and it requires 3f min. more to fill the tub. 
How long does it take the discharge pipe to empty 
a full tub? 

VI 

(a) Two freight trains 240 yds. and 200 yds. long, 
respectively, take 25 seconds to pass each other when 
running in opposite directions, and 3f minutes when 
running in the same direction. What are the speeds 
in miles per hour? 

(b) A and B unite their farms of 3,000 and 5,000 
acres, respectively. At the same time they take a 
third partner who pays them $8,000, with the agree- 
ment that in the future J of the land shall belong to 
each. How is the $8,000 to be divided between A 
and B? 

[361] 



Working One's Way Through College 

ALGEBRA 

I 

(Time allowed, 2 hours) 
1 x+a i x— a 

t ^ c- vt *~* 2 +a 2 , S ~x 2 +a 2 

(a) ibimplifv 1 

*1 a+x i a—x 



a a 2 +x 2 a a 2 +x 2 

. x*—8X x 2 + 2X+\ x 2 +2x+4, 

and — x— - ^ -i — 

x 2 — 4>x— 5 X s — x 2 — %x x—5 

(b) Find the G. C. D. of .z 4 +14,z 3 +71.z 2 + 154,r 

+ 120 and x*-\-Gx 3 -\-3x 2 — 26x — 24. 

ii 

2 1 12 

(a) Solve the equations: -+- = 13,-4— =q, 

x y x y 

Solve: <yJ x +s+^x+8—\ 4^+21=0. 
(fe) If the speed of a train per hour is reduced 
4j miles, it takes 1 hr. 48 min. longer to make 799 
miles. Find the usual speed. 

in 

(a) Simplify: • Find the square 

7\ 3 — 5\ 2 
root of 141 — 24^30. An article selling for $39 
yields a gain per cent equal to its cost in dollars. 
Find the cost. 

(b) Solve by completing the square: %lx 2 -\-8x — 
133=0. Find x and y from the equations x 3 — y 3 = 
1304 and x 2 +xy+y 2 z=163. 

IV 

(a) If the length of a rectangle be decreased by 3 
yds. and its breadth be increased by lj yds., its area 

[ 362 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

will be increased from 1,200 to 1,260 sq. yds. Find 
the sides of the rectangle. Interpret the negative 
values of x and y which result from your solution. 

(b) A regular octagon is formed by cutting off the 
corners of a square whose edge is 1 ft. Find the 
side of the octagon. 

v 

(a) In a race of 440 yds. A gives B 20 yds. start 
and beats him by 2 seconds. In a second race A gives 
B a start of 4 seconds and beats him by 6 yds. What 
are the rates of A and B? 

(6) The denominator of a fraction is 3 greater than 
twice the numerator ; and if 3 T \ be added to the frac- 
tion, the sum is equal to the reciprocal of the original 
fraction. Find the fraction. 

GEOMETRY 

(Time allowed, 2 hours) 

i 

(a) Define trapezoid, and name and define the 

different kinds of parallelograms. Prove that any 

line through the intersection of the diagonals of a 

parallelogram bisects the parallelogram. 

(6) Prove that the straight lines joining the middle 
points of the adjacent sides of any quadrilateral form 
a parallelogram. 

ii 
(a) A perpendicular from C, the right angle of a 
right triangle, upon the hypotenuse divides it into 
segments of 2.88 inches and 5.12 inches. Find the 
length of the perpendicular, the lengths of the two 
sides, and the area of the triangle. 

[363] 



Working One's Way Through College 

(6) Find the length of the tangents drawn from a 
point 10 inches from the centre of a circle of 12 inches 
diameter, and the length of the chord joining the 
points of contact. 

in 

(a) Define geometric locus. The base of a tri- 
angle is two inches, and the angle opposite the base 
is 30°. Construct the locus of the vertex, and prove 
your construction. 

(6) A circle is tangent internally at P to another 
circle of twice the radius. Prove that the small circle 
bisects every chord of larger circle drawn from P. 

IV 

(a) Four points, A, B, C, and D, on the circum- 
ference of a circle divide it into parts proportional 
to 6, 9, 10, 11. Find the number of degrees in the 
angles formed (1) by the straight lines AB and AD, 
(2) by AD and BC, (3) by AC and BD, and (4) by 
AC and the tangent at A. 

(b) Prove that the bisector of an internal angle 
of a triangle divides the opposite side into segments 
proportional to the adjacent sides. An angle of a right 
triangle is 30° and the opposite side is 1 ft.; find the 
segments formed by the bisector of the 30° angle. 

v 
(a) What is the area and the circumference of a 
circle in terms of its radius r and «"? Give an 
approximate value of "" in decimals and in the form 
of a fraction. Show that the area of a circular ring 
is equal to the area of the circle which has for its 
diameter the chord tangent to the inner concentric 
circle. 

[ 364 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

(6) From a point P without a circle construct 
a tangent to the circle, and prove your construction. 

ADMISSION 

44. Candidates that pass the physical and mental 
examinations will receive appointments as midship- 
men, and become students of the Academy. Each 
midshipman on admission will be required to sign 
articles by which he binds himself to serve in the 
United States Navy eight years (including his time 
of probation at the Naval Academy), unless sooner 
discharged. He will be required to certify on honor 
his exact age. 

45. The pay of a midshipman is $600 a year, com- 
mencing at the date of his admission. 

46. Midshipmen will supply themselves, imme- 
diately upon their admission, with the following 
articles, viz. : 



One white cap and 




Two pairs regu- 




anchor . . . $ 


2.35 


lation leggings 


1.50 


One dress jacket . 


20.78 


One parade cap . 


3.05 


One blouse 


15.22 


One knit cap . 


.60 


One pair dress 




One mug . 


.08 


trousers 


11.83 


One soap box . 


.18 


One pair service 




One laundry book 


.20 


trousers . 


6.68 


One pair blankets 


4.20 


One overcoat . 


26.98 


One pair over- 




One reefer . . 


12.18 


shoes . . . 


.75 


One mackintosh . 


10.00 


Two pairs high 




One cap cover . 


.30 


shoes 


8.52 


Eight work suits . 


8.00 


Eight white shirts 


4.00 



[365 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 



Twelve collars 


1.10 


book .... 


.30 


Four white blouses 


16.00 


a One pass book . 


.30 


Four pairs white 




a Two stencils, 




trousers . 


8.00 


ink, and brush . 


.60 


Twelve pairs cuffs 


2.00 


a Wash basin and 




Twelve pairs 




pitcher . 


.95 


socks 


2.25 


a One pair gym- 




* Eight towels 


1.60 


nasium slippers 


.85 


*Shaving outfit . 


2.50 


* One whisk . 


.19 


Six pairs drawers 




* One coarse comb 


.11 


(summer) . 


2.10 


* One cake soap . 


.25 


*Six undershirts 




* One hairbrush . 


.61 


(summer) . 


2.10 


* Stationery . 


1.75 


One hand glass . 


1.10 


* Twelve white 




One blue jersey . 


2.55 


handkerchiefs . 


2.25 


Two blue jerseys . 


3.24 


* One pair sus- 




One pair white 




penders 


.40 


shoes 


1.95 


Four suits paja- 




Three white hats . 


1.35 


mas . . . , 


3.40 


One jackknife 


.40 


* One toothbrush 


.20 


Two lanyards 


.22 


* Thread and 




Six sheets 


4.20 


needles . 


.75 


Hammock clews . 


.45 


* Blacking brush 




One pair bathing 




and blacking . 


.55 


trunks 


.15 


* Nailbrush . . 


.20 


Three pairs white 




Six pillowcases . 


.72 


gloves 


1.20 


One black silk 




Two clothes bags 


.50 


neckerchief 


.40 


One hammock 




Name plate . 


.11 


mattress 
a One requisition 


3.00 






$2 


08.15 



When moving into quarters, midshipmen will supply 
themselves with the following, viz. : 

[ 366 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 



a Two bedspreads 


$2.64 


a One rug . . . .70 


a Two pairs drill 




a One hair mat- 


gloves 


1.00 


tress . . . 5.10 


a One slop j ar . 


.95 


a One broom . . .35 


a Two spatter 








cloths 


1.00 


$12.49 


One hair pillow . 


.75 





Articles marked a will not be taken on board the 
practice ship. 

The articles marked *, not being required to con- 
form to a standard pattern, may be brought by the 
midshipmen from home, but all other articles must 
conform to the regulations, and must therefore be sup- 
plied by the storekeeper. 

47. Each midshipman must, on admission, deposit 
with the pay officer the sum of $60, for which he will 
be credited on the books of that officer, to be expended 
by direction of the Superintendent in the purchase of 
text-books and other authorized articles besides those 
enumerated in the preceding article. 

48. All deposits for clothing and the entrance 
deposit of $60 must be made before a candidate can 
be received into the Academy. 

49. Checks for these deposits must not be made 
payable to the order of the Superintendent. They 
should be made payable to the candidate's own order 
and be presented to the pay officer of the Naval 
Academy at the time of deposit. 

SUMMARY OF EXPENSES 

Deposit for clothing, etc $220.64 

Deposit for books, etc . 60.00 

$280.64 
[367] 



Working One's Way Through College 

The value of clothing brought from home is to be 
deducted from this amount. 

50. Each midshipman will be paid, as soon as ad- 
justed by the Treasury Department, the amount of 
his actual expenses in travelling from his home to the 
Academy. 



COURSE OF INSTRUCTION, 1910-1911 

[Reference books are marked *] 

FIRST YEAR — FOURTH CLASS. 

First Term 



Departments 



w ft 
.2 ^ 

0) — 



Subjects 



Text-books 



Marine Engineering 
and Naval 


4 
6 
4 

3 


Mechanical draw- 


Bartlett's Mechanical 
Drawing* 

Department Marine En- 
gineering Notes* 

Descriptive Geometry 
Notes 

Model Work 

Brown & Capron's Practi- 
cal Algebra 
Brown's Graphic Algebra 


Construction 

Mathematics and 
Mechanics 


Algebra and logar- 










Geometry 

Hill's Beginnings of Rhe- 
toric 

Webster's Dictionary* 

Themes 

2 Books of Shakespeare 

Sand wick & Bacon's High 
School Word Book 

Marion's Elementary 
Course of French Pro- 
nunciation 

Bercy's Le Francais 
Pratique 

Marion's Le Verbe 











[ 368 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 



Second Term 



Departments 


•8* 

© 
3 

6 
4 

3 


Subjects 


Text-books 


Marine Engineering 


Mechanical draw- 


Bartlett's Mechanical 
Drawing* 


Construction 

Mathematics and 
Mechanics 


Trigonometry 


Department Marine En- 
gineering Notes * 

Descriptive Geometry 
Notes 

Model Work, Engineering, 
and Ordnance 

Brown's Graphic Algebra 

Brown's Trigonometry and 
Stereographic Projec- 
tions 

Bowditch's Useful Tables* 

Sandwick & Bacon's High 
School Word Book 

Andrew's Manual of the 
Constitution 

Webster's Dictionary* 

Themes 

La Mont's English Com- 
position 

Bercy's La Langue 

Francaise, 
Marion's Le Verbe , 
Le Petit Larousse Illustre 
Heath's French and Eng- 
lish Dictionary 











Having given in full detail information in re- 
gard to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, it will 
not be necessary, for the purposes of this book, 
to repeat details about West Point or the Rev- 
enue-Cutter Service. We shall give only such 
general matter about these as may seem essential. 

Each Congressional district and Territory (in- 
cluding the District of Columbia and Porto Rico) 
is entitled to have one cadet at the Military 

[ 369 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

Academy. Each State is entitled to have 
two cadets from the State at large, and forty 
are allowed from the United States at large. The 
law, however, provides that, for six years from 
July 1, 1910, whenever any cadet shall have fin- 
ished three years of his course at the Academy, 
his successor may be admitted. The appointment 
from a congressional district is made upon the 
recommendation of the Representative in Con- 
gress from that district, and those from a State 
at large upon the recommendations of the Sena- 
tors of the State. Similarly the appointment from 
a Territory is made upon the recommendation 
of the Delegate in Congress. The appointment 
from the District of Columbia is made on the rec- 
ommendation of the Commissioners of the District. 
Each person appointed must be an actual resi- 
dent of the State, district, or Territory from which 
the appointment is made. 

The appointments from the United States at 
large are made by the President of the United 
States upon his own selection. The cadet from 
Porto Rico, who must be a native of that island, 
is appointed by the President on the recommenda- 
tion of the resident commissioner. 

The Secretary of War is authorized to per- 
mit not more than four Filipinos to be designated, 

[370] 



Working One's Way Through College 

one for each class, by the Philippine Commission, 
to receive instruction at the United States Mil- 
itary Academy at West Point: Provided, That 
the Filipinos undergoing instruction shall receive 
the same pay, allowances, and emoluments as are 
authorized by law for cadets at the Military 
Academy appointed from the United States, to 
be paid out of the same appropriations : And 
provided further, That said Filipinos undergo- 
ing instruction on graduation shall be eligible 
only to commissions in the Philippine Scouts. 
And the provisions of section 1321, Revised Stat- 
utes, are modified in the case of the Filipinos un- 
dergoing instruction so as to require them to 
engage to serve for eight years, unless sooner dis- 
charged, in the Philippine Scouts. 

Appointments are required by law to be made 
one year in advance of the date of admission, ex- 
cept in cases where, by reason of death or other 
cause, a vacancy occurs which can not be pro- 
vided for by such appointment in advance. These 
vacancies are filled in time for the next examina- 
tion. 

For each candidate appointed there should be 
nominated two alternates. The principal and 
each alternate will receive from the War Depart- 
ment a letter of appointment, and must appear 

[ 371 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

for examination at the time and place therein 
designated. The board before which a candidate 
is directed to appear will be, without exception, 
the one convened at the place nearest or most 
convenient to his home, or to the school at which 
he is in regular attendance at the time of ap- 
pointment. 

The fitness for admission to the Academy will 
be determined as prescribed in the Regulations of 
the U. S. Military Academy. If the principal 
fails to qualify, either mentally or physically, 
then the qualifications of the alternates will be 
considered, and if only one has met the require- 
ments he will be admitted ; if both alternates have 
met the requirements, the better qualified will be 
admitted. The alternates, like the principal, 
should be designated one year in advance of the 
date of admission. 

The following are extracts from the Regula- 
tions of the Military Academy relating to the ex- 
amination of candidates for admission, and are 
strictly adhered to: On the second Tuesday in 
January of each year candidates selected for ap- 
pointment (except the Filipino candidates) shall 
appear for mental and physical examination be- 
fore boards of army officers to be convened 
at such places as the War Department may 

[ 372 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

designate. The Filipino candidates selected for 
appointment, unless otherwise notified by the 
War Department, shall appear for mental and 
physical examination on the second Tuesday in 
October of each year before a board of army of- 
ficers to be convened at such place in the Philip- 
pine Islands as the Commanding General of the 
Philippine Division may designate. Candidates 
who pass will be admitted to the Academy without 
further examination upon reporting in person to 
the superintendent before twelve o'clock, noon, on 
the first day of March following the examination. 

Each candidate before admission to the academy 
must show by examination, that he is well versed 
in algebra, including quadratic equations and 
progression; plane geometry; English grammar, 
composition, and literature ; descriptive and phys- 
ical geography, and general and United States 
history. No rejected candidate shall be reex- 
amined except upon recommendation of the 
academic board. 

Immediately after reporting to the superin- 
tendent for admission and before receiving his 
warrant of appointment, the candidate is required 
to sign an engagement for service in the follow- 
ing form, and in the presence of the superintend- 
ent or some officer deputed by him : 

[373 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

I , of the State (or Territory) of , aged 



years, months, do hereby engage (with the 

consent of my parent or guardian) that from the date 
of my admission as a cadet of the United States Mil- 
itary Academy, I will serve in the Army of the United 
States for eight years, unless sooner discharged by 
competent authority. 

The candidate is then required to take and 
subscribe an oath or affirmation to support the 
Constitution of the United States, to bear true 
allegiance to the National Government, to main- 
tain and defend the sovereignty of the United 
States, and to obey legal orders of his superior 
officers and the rules and articles governing the 
armies of the United States. 

No candidate is admitted who is under seven- 
teen or over twenty-two years of age, or less than 
five feet four inches in height at the age of seven- 
teen or five feet five inches in height at the age 
of eighteen and upward, or who is deformed or 
afflicted with any disease or infirmity which would 
render him unfit for the military service, or who 
has, at the time of presenting himself, any dis- 
order of an infectious or immoral character. 
Candidates must be unmarried. 

Each candidate must on reporting at West 
Point present a certificate showing successful 
vaccination within one year, or a certificate of 

[ 374] 



Working One's Way Through College 

two vaccinations, made at least a month apart, 
within three months. 

Candidates are eligible for admission from the 
day they are seventeen until the day they become 
twenty-two years of age, on which latter day they 
are not eligible. 

All candidates, before leaving their place of 
residence, should cause themselves to be thoroughly 
examined by a competent physician and by a 
teacher or instructor in good standing. By such 
examinations any serious physical disqualifica- 
tion or deficiency in mental preparation would 
be revealed. This informal examination is rec- 
ommended solely for the convenience and benefit 
of the candidate himself, and can in no manner 
affect the decision of the academic and medical 
examining boards. 

The requirements, physical and mental, are 
much the same as already given for Annapolis. 

The pay of a cadet is $600 per year and one 
ration a day, or commutation therefor at thirty 
cents per day. The total is $709.50, to commence 
with his admission to the Academy. The actual 
and necessary travelling expenses of candidates 
from their homes to the Military Academy are 
credited to their accounts after their admission 
as cadets. 

[375] 



Working One's Way Through College 

A third, and equally interesting, training pro- 
vided by the National Government for youths is 
that of the United States Revenue-Cutter Service. 
Appointments as cadets in the Revenue-Cutter 
Service are made after competitive examina- 
tions, which are open to all young men who are 
citizens of the United States, unmarried, whose 
age is within the prescribed limits, and who pro- 
duce satisfactory evidence of good character. 

A person to be eligible for appointment as a 
cadet of the line must produce satisfactory evi- 
dence of good moral character, be not less than 
eighteen nor more than twenty-four years of age 
at the time of appointment, and must pass a 
satisfactory physical examination by a board of 
officers of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital 
Service, and a satisfactory educational examina- 
tion, which must be written and strictly com- 
petitive, by a board of commissioned officers of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service. No person will be 
designated for examination who will be less than 
eighteen years of age at the time the examina- 
tion is held. 

No person who has been dismissed or compelled 
to resign from the Military Academy or from the 
Naval Academy of the United States for hazing, 
or for other improper conduct, is eligible for 

[376] 



Working One's Way Through College 

appointment as a cadet in the Revenue-Cutter 
Service. 

Before being appointed a cadet of the line the 
candidate will be required to obligate himself to 
serve at least three years as an officer in the serv- 
ice, after graduation, if his services be so long 
required. 

Applications for permission to take the exam- 
ination should be made to the Secretary of the 
Treasury on the prescribed form, which will be 
sent upon request. The application must be ac- 
companied by testimonials sufficient to constitute 
evidence of the good moral character of the ap- 
plicant. The application should state what 
schools or colleges the candidate has attended, 
and in what occupation he has been engaged. 

Examinations will be held in Washington and 
in a number of other cities in different sections 
of the country, depending upon the location of 
the various candidates. Upon the receipt of an 
application containing evidence satisfactory to 
the department that the candidate is within the 
age limits, a citizen of the United States, unmar- 
ried, and of good moral character, he will be in- 
formed of the date of the next examination, as 
soon as such date is determined upon, and of the 
place nearest his home where such examination 

[ 377 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

will be conducted, and will be designated to be 
examined at such time and place. 

No expenses are allowed candidates who are 
permitted to appear for examination. 

The physical examination, which, whenever 
practicable, precedes the mental, is conducted 
by a board of officers of the Public Health and 
Marine-Hospital Service, and is thorough and 
rigid. It is essential that candidates be sound 
in every particular, as no material defect will 
be waived in any case or for any reason. The 
height must be not less than five feet four inches, 
stripped. 

The defects for which candidates are rejected 
are in general the same as in the Annapolis list. 

No one found physically disqualified will be 
examined further. 

The mental examination, while largely ele- 
mentary, is comprehensive and thorough and 
is designed to ascertain if the candidate has had 
the necessary training to enable him successfully 
to carry on his studies as a cadet at the School 
of Instruction of the service. The passing 
average is 70 per cent, and any candidate ob- 
taining a general average of less than 70 will 
be rejected. All papers of the candidates are 
examined and rated by a board of commissioned 

[378] 



Working One's Way Through College 

officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service. The ex- 
amination is strictly competitive, and those can- 
didates obtaining the highest averages are in 
all cases recommended by the board for appoint- 
ment. Each question is independently marked 
by each officer on the board, and the mean of 
the marks given by all the members of the board 
is taken as the candidate's mark on that question. 
The examination takes about four days, and 
comprises spelling (weight 10) ; algebra, as 
comprised in high-school text-books, including 
logarithms (weight 10) ; geometry, plane and solid 
(weight 10) ; trigonometry, plane, as comprised 
in high-school text-books (weight 8) ; geography, 
general, as comprised in grammar-school text- 
books (weight 7) ; world's history and Constitution 
of the United States, as comprised in high- 
school text-books — questions on the Constitution 
refer to its general provisions only — (weight 8) ; 
physics, as comprised in high-school text-books 
(weight 7) ; grammar, as given in grammar-school 
text-books, including parsing and analysis (weight 
5) ; composition, preparation of an essay on one 
of three or more assigned topics (weight 10) ; 
English literature, as comprised in high-school 
text-books (weight 10) ; one modern language, 
French, German, or Spanish — the test includes 

[ 379 ] 



Working One's Way Through College 

the translation of a short exercise into English, 
and also one from English into the language se- 
lected (weight 5); general information — ques- 
tions relating to well-known matters of general, 
national, or international interest (weight 5). 

The board considers the general adaptability of 
the candidate for the Service, and marks its opin- 
ion thereon on a scale of 100. This mark for 
adaptability is given a weight of 5 in a total weight 
of 100 for the entire examination. In determin- 
ing the adaptability of the candidate, the board 
carefully considers the testimonials submitted by 
him and also his bearing and general appearance 
as reported by the members of the subboard before 
whom he has appeared. 

The salary of a cadet is $500 per annum and 
one commuted ration per day. 

Each successful candidate, prior to being ad- 
mitted to the School of Instruction, is required to 
deposit with the superintendent of the school the 
sum of $150 to defray the expenses of his uniform 
outfit. The sum of ten dollars per month is with- 
held from the pay of each cadet and placed to his 
credit toward defraying the cost of an outfit for 
a commissioned officer upon the completion of his 
cadet course. 

Cadets of the line undergo a course of training 

[ 380 1 



Working One's Way Through College 

for three years at the School of Instruction of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service, which is located near 
New London, Connecticut. The course at the 
School of Instruction embraces seamanship, navi- 
gation, gunnery, mathematics, naval architecture, 
marine engineering, English, history, international 
law, navigation law, physics, chemistry, electricity, 
wireless telegraphy, surveying, and French, and 
includes infantry and artillery drills, boat drills 
under oars and sails, etc. 

After the successful completion of this course 
cadets are commissioned by the President to fill 
vacancies in the grade of third lieutenant, and 
have the rank and pay of second lieutenants in the 
army, and ensigns in the navy. The pay of a 
third lieutenant is $1,700 per annum. Promotions 
are made by seniority through the successive 
grades up to and including senior captain, in 
which grade an officer has the rank and pay of a 
lieutenant-colonel in the army and a commander in 
the navy. A third lieutenant, if not previously 
promoted by occurring vacancies, is, at the end of 
five years' service in his grade, advanced to the 
grade of second lieutenant upon passing the re- 
quired examination for promotion. 



The End 



MAY 3 1912 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 445 091 9 



iHB 









